SAMHSA awards Project ECHO $2.6 million to continue expanding MOUD efforts

Penn State College of Medicine has been awarded $2.6 million by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to address opioid use disorder (OUD). The Penn State team plans to expand medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Central Pennsylvania by building upon prior SAMHSA grant efforts to grow their collaborative Pennsylvania Coordinated Medication-Assisted Treatment (PacMAT) and Project ECHO hub-and-spoke efforts.

Over the 5-year award period, 150 new Pennsylvania primary care providers will receive training in MOUD through the Project ECHO platform. The project also aims to increase the capacity of providers and PacMAT spoke clinics to provide MOUD to 825 individuals.

“This five-year award is an exciting opportunity to continue to build on all of the excellent PacMAT efforts to expand treatment for individuals with substance use disorder in Central PA,” Jennifer Kraschnewski, MD, MPH, Project ECHO director and principle investigator noted. “I am grateful SAMHSA saw the tremendous strengths the team brings together to address care gaps, especially during these challenging times.”

PacMAT is a PA Department of Health funded initiative connecting primary care sites and hospital systems in a hub-and-spoke treatment model. The hub is the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute in Harrisburg, PA, a joint venture between Penn State Health and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center PinnacleHealth.

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