$2.6M for Integrated Care and Substance Treatment Training at Rutgers CIC

On Mar 5, 2024

The Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) Center for Integrated Care (CIC) has received nearly $2.6 million in federal grants/funding to work with its partners throughout the state to train behavioral health clinicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in integrated care and integrated substance use disorder treatment.

The grant, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will extend behavioral health training and treatment in partnership with community-based health centers both within Rutgers Health and throughout New Jersey.

This is the third such HRSA-funded grant for the center—in total $6.5 million.

During this five-year project – called the Expanded Rutgers University Integrated Substance Use Disorder Training Program – the center will widen programming to include training for licensed counselors, registered nurses and prelicensure professionals, in addition to practitioners already being trained in the original program: advanced practice nurses, psychologists, physician assistants and social workers.

This program adds to the workforce of medical and behavioral health professionals trained to provide effective integrated care and integrated substance use disorder services including for individuals and families affected by opioid use disorder.

This project is led by principal investigator Holly Lister, a psychologist and program coordinator for the center; co-investigator Stephanie Marcello, assistant vice president of academics, integration and innovation at UBHC; and Katie Hilton, a licensed professional counselor and training and consultation specialist at UBHC and in the center.

“Through this full-time program, we can train up to 20 more medical and behavioral health professionals to enter back into our health care system and deliver effective integrated care and integrated addiction treatment to people and families across the state,” Lister said.

The Expanded Rutgers University Integrated Substance Use Disorder Training Program is a collaboration with the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) and NJMS faculty Jared Walsh, associate program director of the NJMS internal medicine residency program, and Ana Natale, general internal medicine division director and assistant dean for primary care and community initiatives. All fellows will be clinically instructed by Walsh at the University Hospital Ambulatory Care Center in Newark.

The program continues the CIC’s collaboration with the Rutgers School of Social Work. Jamey Lister, assistant professor, co-director and New Jersey Director of the Northeast and Caribbean Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Center, leads evaluation, quality improvement efforts and research on clinical outcomes at the clinics and within communities served.

The CIC serves as a hub for integrated care education, training, consultation and clinical service delivery in New Jersey. Along with two other ongoing HRSA grants under the CIC, the Rutgers program feeds the clinical workforce and improves our ability to manage the complex behavioral and physical health needs of community members that experience high rates of chronic medical diseases, substance use, opioid overdoses and drug-related deaths.

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