Learning Network
*DEADLINE EXTENDED! APPLY NOW BY:
JANUARY 19, 2021 AT 5:00PM (PST)
Application Overview
In partnership with California Department of Health Care Services, the Center for Care Innovations (CCI) is launching Addiction Treatment Starts Here Learning Network. Below you will find information about the program and application process. You can also download the Request for Applications.
Table of Contents
Background
Recognizing that sites with mature medications for addiction treatment (MAT) programs can benefit from continued learning from their peers, CCI has created an 18-month Learning Network for previous Addiction Treatment Starts Here and Treating Addiction in the Primary Care Safety Net teams. The goal is to provide additional peer support to participants with MAT programs that are up and running. In lieu of grants to participants, CCI is creating a peer-led environment that will offer an array technical assistance and support to:
- Expand access to MAT and create sustainable models for ongoing MAT program expansion.
- Address emerging issues in caring for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) specifically, and substance use disorder (SUD) more generally.
- Develop new program capabilities through peer sharing.
- Problem solve around shared challenges.
- Learn promising practices from exemplar sites.
The Learning Network will serve as a continuation of the journey that teams began in Treating Addiction in the Primary Care Safety Net (TAPC) or Addiction Treatment Starts Here (ATSH) Primary Care, Wave 1 and Wave 2. It will focus on learning, sharing best practices, and taking action, and is an opportunity to expand and elevate the MAT work undertaken thus far.
The Learning Network is funded through a grant from the California Department of Health Care Services as part of its portfolio of projects addressing the opioid crisis. Combined, these projects are known as The California MAT Expansion Project and are administered under the umbrella of California’s State Opioid Response grant. The MAT Expansion Project has supported more than 30 initiatives, with the collective aim of increasing access to MAT, reducing unmet treatment need, and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment, and recovery activities. More information on California MAT Expansion Projects is available here.
The Learning Network does not offer grant funding directly to participants. Instead, it focuses on peer exchange and technical assistance as a means of growing and improving MAT programs.
Program Components
The Addiction Treatment Starts Here Learning Network offers a mechanism for clinics with mature MAT programs to continue to refine and expand these programs to new sites and new populations. While the Learning Network will provide some customized expertise and support, its focus will be on sharing and spreading ideas and best practices among peers — not didactic teaching from experts.
Curriculum
We outline below the types of content we anticipate addressing throughout the 18-month Learning Network. Topics were identified over the course of Addiction Treatment Starts Here, and in interviews and analysis conducted after work was completed. As we gain insight into the interest areas and needs of the Learning Network, we will adapt the curriculum. We anticipate addressing:
- Developing a MAT model for the future, given COVID-19 and the pandemic’s constraints on in-person visits.
- Tools and approaches to address stimulant use disorder.
- Managing co-occurring substance use, such as alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, tobacco, and/or benzodiazepine use.
- Refining care team roles, including drug and alcohol counselors, care managers, behavioral health therapists, and others.
- Expanding services for pregnant patients and youth.
- Addressing issues related to stigma, bias, and health equity.
- Identifying patients through adopting improved inreach and outreach strategies.
- Harm reduction.
- Trauma-informed care.
- Creating a sustainable staff onboarding and orientation structure that provides ongoing training for providers and staff.
- Building partnerships to promote collaboration across care transition points, such as with acute care hospitals with emergency departments, sobering centers, and behavioral health providers.
- Creating linkages to community services and supports to address social risk factors.
Learning Network Activities
The Learning Network will include a mix of activities that have proven effective in enabling teams to refine their MAT programs and services.
- Learning Session: One in-person learning session will be offered (attendance is optional). The learning session may be offered virtually if pandemic-related regulations prevent large in-person gatherings.
- Topical Webinars: Quarterly 90-minute webinars led by peers and experts. Teams may also access webinars offered by the Learning Collaborative that address topics of interest.
- Office Hours: Access to periodic office hours with Addiction Treatment Starts Here coaches (office hours will be either monthly or quarterly, depending on demand).
- Peer Groups: Access to virtual forums for prescribers, nurses (including RNs, LVNs, and medical assistants), and SUD counselors.
- Site Visits: Option to learn from sites with mature MAT programs. Site visits are likely to include virtual and in-person options. Note: In-person site visits are typically limited to 10 participants. As such, participation is not guaranteed.
- Data Submission: Submission of data on two measures at the launch and conclusion of the collaborative (e.g., teams will submit data only two times during the course of the project but can submit more frequently if desired).
- An online community.
Timeline
The ATSH Learning Network runs from March 2021 to August 2022. Key dates include:
| Request for Applications Released | November 30, 2020 |
| Informational Webinar | December 16, 2020 (10 – 11 am PT) |
| Application Deadline | January 19, 2021, (5 pm PT) |
| Cohort Announced | March 1, 2021 |
| Program Start & Kick-Off Webinar | April 13, 2021 (12 -1:30 pm PT) |
| In-Person Learning Session 1 | TBD |
| Program End | August 30, 2022 |
What You Get
- Free technical assistance from expert coaches.
- A platform to learn from peers about ways to continue to improve your MAT program.
- Access to forums and site visits that offer insight into challenges and opportunities to improve access to addiction treatment for your patients.
- A virtual community to get timely questions answered.
- An opportunity to serve as a peer mentor to clinics just starting their MAT journey. Funding would be available to offset time participating in this additional work. We are gauging interest in the peer mentor program by asking several questions in the Learning Network Application Form. CCI will provide additional information about the peer mentor program to interested teams.
Eligibility Requirements
The Learning Network is exclusively for alumni participants of Treating Addiction in the Primary Care Safety Net and Addiction Treatment Starts Here. Multiple sites within the same organization may apply but we ask that each site complete its own application. If you have a question about whether you qualify, please contact Briana Harris-Mills at [email protected].
Participation Expectations
Based on our experience with designing MAT collaboratives and peer networks, we identified factors we think will contribute to a positive experience. We designed participation expectations with this in mind.
This network is intended to be flexible and responsive to the needs of participants, so we ask each organization to act as a partner in shaping the network by committing to:
- Actively share challenges, opportunities, bright spots, and questions with fellow network participants. This sharing can be done via participation in learning events, using the listserv, and joining coaching office hours.
- Attend all quarterly webinars and share on topics through storyboards, brief presentations, and other methods to highlight experiences.
- Participate as a dedicated team. At least two individuals are required to be committed to the Learning Network to promote continuity. Ideally, teams are multi-disciplinary and represent the many functions needed for a successful MAT program. We recommend that teams include an X-waivered prescriber and a frontline staff person.
- Submit data on a streamlined measure set. Data would be submitted at baseline (e.g., program launch) and endpoint (e.g., program conclusion).
- Complete periodic surveys to assess experiences in the Learning Network. Surveys will be designed to be as brief as possible.
What Makes A Strong Application?
CCI is looking for applicants with the following characteristics:
- Commitment to actively and openly share approaches and lessons learned with other teams.
- Commitment to participate in Learning Network events (e.g., quarterly webinars, forums, office hours).
- Ability to submit data on a small measure set. Data submission will be required at program start and conclusion. Teams that wish to submit data more frequently (e.g., quarterly) can also do so.
- Representation from a multi-disciplinary team (e.g., a team that includes participation from different roles, including prescribers, front-line staff, and senior leaders).
Additional Opportunity: Peer Mentorship
CCI seeks up to 10 “peer mentor teams” for the next wave of the Addiction Treatment Starts Here Learning Collaborative. Peer mentor teams participate in the Learning Network and also receive a stipend to provide support and guidance to Learning Collaborative teams. We define peer mentor teams as approximately 2-4 people within a clinic site that would serve as faculty for Learning Collaborative learning sessions and webinars (based on areas of expertise), provide informal coaching to teams new to providing MAT, and offer feedback and guidance in other ways. Your peer mentor team is the same as your Learning Network team. Support to Learning Collaborative teams can occur in group or individual settings (e.g., prescriber to prescriber discussions). CCI is able to provide a stipend of up to $10,000 for peer mentor teams (in addition to travel expenses as applicable). We anticipate that peer mentor teams would devote about 20-25 hours total to mentoring activities over the course of the 18-month program. If you are interested, please indicate in your application.
Informational Webinar
Watch the Informational Webinar to hear a detailed description of the program. Slides from the session can be found here.
Apply Now!
Your application must be submitted online by Tuesday, January 19, 2021, at 5 pm PT. The program cohort will be announced by March 1, 2021. Each site should submit its own application.
Upon reviewing applications, CCI may request follow-up information or schedule a phone call with your team. CCI will contact you by March 1, 2021 to let you know whether you have been accepted into the Learning Network. In the meantime, please hold April 13, 2021 (12 pm – 1:30 pm) for the Learning Network kick-off webinar. Once you have been accepted into the program, we will send webinar registration information, along with the URL to join the meeting.
Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding the Addiction Treatment Starts Here Learning Network program and application process, contact Briana Harris-Mills.