Expanding Treatment
Published on March 31, 2020MAHEC expands treatment capacity for opioid use disorder
MAHEC expands treatment capacity for opioid use disorder
Opioid use disorder, like many medical conditions, disproportionally affects those with limited access to health care. The Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) and the UNC School of Medicine are working to change that.
The national Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) and Western North Carolina-based Dogwood Health Trust funded a $1 million grant to UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC to expand access to treatment for opioid use disorder. This grant supports regional addiction medicine programs at MAHEC and UNC-Chapel Hill in providing education, training and technical assistance to expand office-based opioid treatment services at 10 community-based health centers, health departments and free clinics at more than 50 sites across the state.
“FORE and Dogwood Health Trust have made it possible for MAHEC and the University of North Carolina to expand access to evidence-based treatment for individuals who are at greatest risk for overdose — those living in rural communities and those without health insurance,” said Jeffery E. Heck, M.D., CEO of MAHEC. “We are confident this work will save many lives.”
