Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently signed Senate Bill 30, sponsored by Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), designating Aug. 31 as Ohio Overdose Awareness Day. In support of Ohio Overdose Awareness Day and Recovery Month this September – RecoveryOhio, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) are partnering to offer naloxone, stipends to facilitate overdose awareness and naloxone distribution events in your local community, and a partner toolkit.

If you are community organization and not a registered Project DAWN program, you can:

• Apply for up to 1,000 naloxone units (2,000 doses) per agency per month by completing this online request form. This opportunity to receive naloxone though this program is available through Sept. 30, 2021.
• Use the Ohio Overdose Awareness Day partner toolkit to raise awareness about Overdose Awareness Day.

If you are a Project DAWN program, you can:

• Apply for up to 1,000 naloxone units (2,000 doses) per agency per month by completing this online request form. This opportunity to receive Naloxone though this program is available through Sept. 30, 2021.
• Apply for a $2,475 stipend to facilitate an overdose awareness and naloxone distribution event in your local community. (See page two of this document for the application.) Completed applications must be submitted to projectdawn@odh.ohio.gov by close of business on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Funded applicants will be notified by close of business Friday, Aug. 20.
• Use the Ohio Overdose Awareness Day partner toolkit to raise awareness about Overdose Awareness Day.

Please note: Stipends will be provided by ODH, and naloxone units will be provided by OhioMHAS, separately. Project DAWN programs are eligible to apply for both the naloxone doses and stipend but are not required to apply for both. For general questions about naloxone orders, please email: naloxone@mha.ohio.gov.

>>> ARPA HCBS Funding Stakeholder Survey – Responses Requested by Aug. 19

Section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) gives states enhanced federal funding that can be invested to enhance, expand, or strengthen home and community-based services. This includes behavioral health, Medicaid waivers for those with an intellectual or other developmental disabilities or those who are elderly or otherwise disabled, and other similar community services; and includes families, children or adults. The Ohio Departments of Aging, Developmental Disabilities, Medicaid, and Mental Health and Addiction Services are working together to gather your ideas for how to strengthen supports and services for those in need of home or community services. We invite you to complete a brief stakeholder survey by COB Aug. 19.

>>> New SUD Services Prior Authorization Request Form Available For Use

On July 29, ODM and OhioMHAS staff held a webinar training session regarding the new “Substance Use Disorder Services Prior Authorization Request” form for SUD residential and Partial Hospitalization services. The form is now ready for use by providers in an electronic “fill in” form available on the ODM Web site here or by searching “substance use” or Form # 10276 on the ODM Forms page.  

The Substance Use Disorder Services Prior Authorization Request form was developed earlier this year by a subcommittee of the SUD 1115 Waiver Stakeholder Advisory Committee in partnership with representatives of Ohio’s Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) and MyCare Ohio Plans (MCOPs). Use of the new form is optional but highly recommended as a way to:

• Improve/support adherence to ASAM Criteria
• Increase consistency in the prior authorization process
• Standardize required documentation and align with OhioMHAS documentation requirements
• Minimize administrative burden
• Ensure that the client perspective is considered

Completed forms should be submitted to the Medicaid Managed Care Organization in which the member is enrolled or to the MITS prior authorization portal for members enrolled in fee for service Medicaid. See the chart below for more details on form submission:

>>> Fairfield County Overdose Awareness Event – Aug. 31

In recognition of Overdose Awareness Day, the Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board and Fairfield County Opiate Task Force are hosting a community Overdose Awareness Event on Aug. 31 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Fountain Square area in Lancaster. The event, which includes naloxone distribution and community resources, will celebrate recovery and acknowledge those who have lost their lives to overdose. For more information, call the ADAMHS Board at 740.654.0829.   

>>> SAMHSA Expands its Talk. They Hear You. Print PSA Series

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is expanding its Talk. They Hear You substance use prevention campaign resources with the release of 15 new print Public Service Announcements (PSAs). Each PSA encourages parents and educators to talk to their children and students about alcohol and other substances. New offerings include:

• Talk. They Hear You: Set Them Up for Success In and Out of the Classroom
• Talk. They Hear You: Before She Makes Plans with Friends
• Talk. They Hear You: Before They Make Plans with Friends
• Talk. They Hear You: Before She Hits the Practice Field
• Talk. They Hear You: Start Talking Before She Heads Off to School
• Talk. They Hear You: Choose Informal Times to Talk As She Gets Older
• Talk. They Hear You: Make Regular Conversations Part of the Routine
• Talk. They Hear You: Help Them Succeed on and Off the Court
• Talk. They Here You: On Your Way to Practice
• Talk. They Hear You: When You’re Hanging Out at the Park
• Talk. They Hear You: Before They Get Behind the Wheel
• Talk. They Hear You: Before She Gets Behind the Wheel
• Talk. They Hear You: Find New Ways to Talk as She Gets Older
• Talk. They Hear You: Before Dropping Her Off at the Party
• Talk. They Hear You: Set Her Up for Success In and Out of the Classroom

>>> Athens County Celebrates Launch of New Mobile Crisis Team at Open House

OhioMHAS Director Lori Criss (pictured above, at left) visited the Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Board on Monday, where she participated in a community open house to celebrate the launch of a new mobile crisis response team and enhanced crisis call line. This new mobile crisis response initiative is a partnership between the Board, Hopewell Health Centers, and local first responders (Athens County EMS/Athens County Sheriff 911) and was funded by GRF investments and a SAMHSA grant. A Hopewell Health Center clinician will be paired with a paramedic from Athens County Emergency Management Services (EMS) Monday—Friday from 9a-5p. The team can offer a range of supports from well-checks and de-escalation and linkage to needed services, to inpatient psychiatric admissions. The goal is to meet patients where they are, provide necessary assessments and interventions, and possibly avoid unnecessary visits to the emergency department. Click HERE to view more photos from the Open House.

For information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634). For behavioral health-specific information, visit: https://mha.ohio.gov/coronavirus. For behavioral health-related questions, email covid19BH@mha.ohio.gov. For COVID-19-related OTP questions, email OTP_COVID19@mha.ohio.gov, for Housing questions, email COVID19Housing@mha.ohio.gov, for Telehealth questions, email COVID19BHTelehealth@mha.ohio.gov, and for Vaccine questions email BHCOVID19vaccine@mha.ohio.gov. Ohio Careline 1-800-720-9616. Click HERE for a list of pop-up COVID-19 Testing Sites and HERE for the latest SAMHSA COVID-19 training and technical assistance resources.

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8.6.21 | Kent-Ravenna Record-Courier Coleman rebranding to better reflect health care it provides

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