Due to the spread of COVID-19, these past few weeks have brought on significant changes and challenges, and OMNI recognizes Virginia CSBs and FQHCs are at the center of many of these impacts. We want to acknowledge all of the wonderful work being done and sacrifices being made, and offer support to any CSB/FQHCs in need of individualized assistance.
Please contact the TA team at
SORSupport@omni.org.
This month's issue will offer TA updates, unique resources and guides, and a community spotlight.
|
|
VA SOR Round-Table: COVID-19 Remote Service Provision
|
|
Join the OMNI TA Team for a round-table focused on the transition to remote work and service provision. This will be a web-based discussion with CSBs, FQHCs, the OMNI TA Team and project leads, and DBHDS representatives to check in on impacts to agency service provision from COVID-19
.
Topics include:
- Agency impacts and changes due to COVID-19
- Telehealth service provision: current state and desired technical assistance
- GPRA administration and follow-up: current state and desired technical assistance
- Resource sharing
Register for one of the two meeting options:
|
|
|
SAMHSA COVID-19 Resources for Opioid Treatment
|
|
SAMHSA has released several resources to help navigate the COVID-19 impacts on opioid treatment programs. You can access and download resources from various agencies, including SAMHSA, under the
COVID-19 page of the Virginia SOR Support website.
Resources include:
We will continue to share updates and resources as they come in!
|
|
Learning Opportunities: Updates and Recaps
|
|
Workflow Learning Collaborative
OMNI was thrilled to host two Learning Collaboratives in February that focused on GPRA Workflow. There were
35 participants
in attendance over the two sessions covering more than 12 regions across Virginia!
For those who were unable to attend the Learning Collaborative, the TA team has developed a summary that includes:
- Information Overview
- GPRA Workflow Overview
- Follow-Up GPRA
- Discharge GPRA
- Follow-Up and Discharge GPRA Timeline
- Break-Out Session Notes
- Active GPRA Administration and Data Input
- Approaching GPRA Follow-Up
- Approaching GPRA Follow-Up
Follow-Up & Discharge Webinar Training
OMNI provided a
Follow-Up and Discharge GPRA Webinar Training
on March 11th that had phenomenal attendance with
42 participants!
The training covered:
- Timelines
- Follow-up GPRA
- Discharge GPRA
- Administrative Processes
- Tips and Strategies
- Next Steps & Questions
For resources from this Webinar, including the recording, slides, and accompanying materials,
click here
(under "Follow-Up & Discharge Training Materials")!
If you have any questions or need support with follow-up and/or discharge GPRAs, please contact the TA team at
SORSupport@omni.org
.
|
|
What to expect
We wanted to share a communication timeline for when you can expect emails from the TA team.
Every week:
- On Monday, we will send an email reminder to your agency about any follow-up windows closing in the next 2 weeks. Please note you will only receive this email if you have clients closing.
- On Friday, we will update Dropbox folders with a weekly tracking sheet.
During the first week of the month:
- We will send an email reminder to your agency about any open/upcoming follow-up windows.
- We will also update Dropbox folders with a monthly progress reports for your specific agency.
Additionally, we will plan to send out the TA bulletin every other month with updates, resources, and a community spotlight. Please reach out if you would like additional contacts to be included in our mailing list.
|
Community Spotlight: VA Beach CSB
|
Sandra D. Love and Diana Tucker from Virginia Beach CSB are this edition's community spotlight. Sandra, QMHP-A, QSACM is a Care Coordinator and Diana, QHMP-A, CADC is a Case Coordinator at Virginia Beach. Please read about Sandra and Diana's reflections on their implementation of the GPRA:
|
Uplifting / Meaningful Interaction
Administering the GPRAs provide an opportunity for SOR staff to get to know the clients in the program. For example, GPRA deals with most aspects of the client’s lifestyle. It is during the administration of the GPRA that we discover serious mental health issues, homelessness, unemployment and other barriers to successful MAT treatment. We happily provide community resources and encourage clients to follow through with seeking out these services. It is very uplifting to hear when individuals in the program follow through or express gratitude for our assistance. We have some success stories that make working with this population very meaningful. Some examples include those who have regained custody of their children, those going from homeless to housed, and those obtaining and maintaining employment.
Reflections / Takeaway
As we reflect on this program, we find that many lives have been saved because of its implementation. Since the implementation of this program in 2017, the number of deaths in our city has decreased by 46% which has impacted many families in a positive manner according to the Virginia Department of Health, Fatal Drug Overdose Quarterly Report, 3rd Quarter 2019. More people are taking responsibility for their lives and expressing gratitude for the help this program provides.
We have also come to realize that it may have been more challenging to manage this program without the assistance provided by the SOR support team at the OMNI Institute. They continue to provide much needed support in terms of education and making changes to the material as necessary. This helps us recognize that we are not alone. We would encourage each entity to reach out to the SOR team for guidance if needed.
Challenges and Roadblocks
The SOR team currently completing GPRA surveys at the City of Virginia Beach consists of one Case Coordinator and one Care Coordinator. We have encountered many roadblocks when it comes to completing the 6-month follow up surveys. Often, our individuals have been closed to services and we are unable to contact them due to a change in phone number or address, incarceration or they have not had contact with family members. This becomes a challenge due to the mandated SAMHSA 80% quota requirement. We are currently seeking a better method of contacting consumers to administer the 6-month follow-up GPRA. Our Peer Recovery Specialists are also attempting to make contact with individuals who may have been discharged in order to conduct an interview.
|
|
Trauma-Informed GPRA Implementation
|
|
SAMHSA has released a tool to help integrate trauma-informed practices into GPRA administration called:
A Guide for GPRA Data Collection Using Trauma-informed Interviewing Skills. The purpose of this guide is to provide insight into the application of a trauma-informed approach to the data collection interview that programs may consider integrating into their interview practices. Sample guidance includes what to say to clients prior to a GPRA Interview:
The interviewer should let the interviewee know that:
- The providing agency and SAMHSA greatly appreciate their cooperation and willingness to share their personal information.
- Data collected provide critical information for policy and program planning, both locally and nationally.
- Information shared is confidential, except under the mandated limits to confidentiality.
- Participants have the right not to answer any question.
- Participants may end the interview at any time or chose not to participate.
Although most have already started GPRA implementation, we encourage CSB/FQHCs to read through the guide to identify skills related to trauma-informed care that can help better support and protect clients.
|
|
- Encrypted Emails: For confidentiality purposes, client ID numbers and other identifying information cannot be communicated via email. The SOR TA Team will now be sending encrypted emails when contacting agencies about GPRA issues specific to an individual client. Click here for more information.
- Data Requests: Agencies can now request to receive all or a portion of their GPRA data. Please contact SORSupport@omni.org with any requests.
- GPRA Question Change: SAMHSA has updated two questions in Section A (Behavioral Health Diagnosis) for the intake and follow-up and discharge surveys. Question 1a is now asked regardless of their previous answer for Question 1 in this section. Two answer choices have also been added to Question 1a: “Client was diagnosed with an opioid use disorder, but did not receive an FDA-approved medication for an opioid use disorder” and “Client was not diagnosed with an opioid use disorder and did not receive FDA-approved medication for an opioid use disorder.” Similar changes were also made to Question 2a, regarding an alcohol use disorder instead of an opioid use disorder.
- Expanding GPRA Administration Methods: In response to various regulations put in place to promote social distancing, DBHDS is encouraging your agencies to offer GPRA interviews via alternative methods, including phone-based or web-based options (Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts). Please contact SOR Support for any guidance on conducting interviews remotely.
- Gift Cards at Intake: For the remainder of the current SOR grant, we have received clarification regarding contingency management for the SOR client intake process. CSBs and FQHCs may now offer a gift card to clients (for up to $15) as an incentive for completing an intake GPRA interview. These incentives can be funded by the SOR grant; however, consistent with gift cards for follow-up GPRA completion, your agency is responsible for purchasing and managing the gift cards. Additionally, gift cards may be of your agency’s choosing, but cannot be cards that can be exchanged for cash value or issued to locations with alcohol available for purchase with a gift card.
|
|
We are here to help!
Need more training?
Need one-on-one or team support?
Have more questions?
Contact the SOR TA Support team at
SORSupport@omni.org! We can provide email, phone, or virtual support to accommodate your organization's needs!
|
|
Click on the following links to access important GPRA-related tools and documents.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
