AAAP Awarded $32 Million to Combat Opioid Addiction, With Columbia Psychiatry and the Addiction Technology Transfer Center and Large Coalition
Recently, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded $32 million to the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) to address opioid use disorders and stimulant use disorders. This grant supports the ongoing work of the Opioid Response Network, which has provided over 3 million people with no cost training and education to mitigate opioid use. The Columbia University Department of Psychiatry’s Division of Substance Use Disorders will be working together with the AAAP and the Addiction Technology Transfer Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas City to manage this grant, along with an unprecedented coalition of 40 national professional organizations representing over two million constituents.
According to Dr. Frances Levin, Opioid Response Network Medical Director and Kennedy-Leavy Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, “The Opioid Response Network has been an extremely impactful national initiative that has reached millions of professional colleagues. It has become a vital resource for people across the nation in combating one of the most serious public health epidemics facing our nation today.”
The Opioid Response Network provides training throughout the country, but recognizes the unique needs of individual jurisdictions. Ranging from training 83% of physicians in California correction facilities to providing a biweekly forum for clinicians in Texas treating opioid use disorders, to developing a Kansas City recovery high school, this program works with the people on the ground to provide the assistance that individual communities need.
"The Opioid Response Network has developed an innovative technical assistance delivery structure which allows for rapid response, localized consultation teams, and tailored evidence-based practices and resources,” said Columbia Psychiatry’s Dr. Aimee Campbell, Director of Implementation Initiatives for the ORN. “This one stop shop for opioid and stimulant prevention, treatment, and recovery TA is critical to supporting the diverse needs of communities across the country."
The Columbia University Department of Psychiatry’s Division of Substance Use Disorders is a vital part of this grant, providing technical assistance for treatment of opioid and stimulant use disorders. In addition to vetting treatment consultants from across the country to provide expert technical assistance through the Opioid Response Network, Columbia Psychiatry takes the lead on several additional initiatives, including Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment protocol for Substance Use Disorders in dental schools. The department is also bringing the entire university’s resources to this initiative through Columbia’s Center for Healing of Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders-Enhancing Intervention Development and Implementation (CHOSEN). CHOSEN is able to harness and coordinate broad and interdisciplinary expertise in substance use disorders from across Columbia University.
Any individual, organization, state or city can submit a request to the Opioid Response Network at opioidresponsenetwork.org for education and training tailored specifically to meet their needs at no cost. Requests are responded to within one business day and supported by a technology transfer specialist dedicated to the region.