Health Impact Ohio Reflects on Work for Franklin County Public Health’s award from the Center for Disease Control Overdose Data to Action Grant

By: Jenelle Hoseus, Chief of Policy and Partnerships & CEO of the Central Ohio Pathways HUB

In 2019, Health Impact Ohio (HIO) was the fortunate sub-recipient of Franklin County Public Health’s (FCPH) award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Overdose Data to Action Grant. The grant was for $3.9 million per year for three years to help the community fight the opiate epidemic. The goals of the grant were to focus on high-quality, comprehensive, and timely data related to the epidemic’s impact and to utilize the data to inform prevention and response efforts within the local community. These efforts included numerous community engagement strategy sessions, focusing on breaking down silos and opening lines of communication so that we can wrap our services around those who could benefit from them in a holistic way rather than part in parcel.

As a sub-recipient for this grant, HIO had the distinct privilege and opportunity to utilize the Community Pathways HUB model to support those navigating their lives in recovery. The Community Health Workers (CHWs) assisting these individuals were able to substantially support their ability to get their feet underneath them, but also have a trusted resource walking alongside them as they walked through the journey they found themselves in.

Through this grant, the focused efforts of individuals in recovery allowed for extensive community relationships to build and grow. Referral patterns for individuals who were approaching an outpatient portion of their treatment plan to HUB CHWs allowed for additional support in areas beyond the behavioral health related spaces.

Additionally, the CHWs within the HUB were able to serve a total of 65 individuals specific to this grant project. The CHWs efforts proved to be wonderfully impactful – providing 20 individuals with health insurance, 15 with employment, and 9 with housing. These efforts cannot be emphasized enough – in order to claim that they have successfully housed someone in the Pathways HUB model, the CHW not only has to find affordable and appropriate housing, which is an ever-growing crisis, but they also have to assist the individual in applying, ensure they move in, and check in 30 days later to guarantee the situation has proven to be the right fit.

These CHWs supported 65 unique individuals in not just maintaining their recovery, but in finding ways to thrive in the new world they found themselves in. I cannot say enough how grateful I am for their perseverance, empathy, and diligence to the individuals they serve.

The Central Ohio Pathways HUB also focused on ensuring that the lessons learned through the grant experience were then supporting the efforts of CHWs across the HUB. Education to the CHWs on supporting those in recovery became a topic at a CHW monthly meeting and core information for the CHW Certification program.

We remain grateful to Franklin County Public Health for the opportunity to collaborate with them on this grant and the light shown on the need for care coordination in support of recovery. While the three years of the Data to Action Grant have ended, we at HIO and the Central Ohio Pathways HUB fully intend to use the lessons learned during this time and continue all the efforts to support anyone in need in the community. We will remain diligent in breaking down stigma, silos, and gaps in data transparency.

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