Prestera Health Receives Two-Year HRSA Planning Grant
Prestera Health Services has been awarded a two-year planning grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to strengthen and coordinate substance use disorder services across rural communities in southern West Virginia. Prestera will lead the regional initiative in partnership with Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center and other healthcare, behavioral health, public health, recovery, and community organizations.
The grant, awarded through HRSA’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP)-Planning initiative, will establish the West Virginia Rural Health Consortium, bringing together community partners across Logan, Mingo, McDowell, and Wyoming counties to develop a coordinated strategy for addressing substance use disorder (SUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), overdose, and related health disparities.
West Virginia continues to face significant challenges related to substance use, including high rates of opioid overdose and other substance use-related health conditions. Rural Appalachian communities experience additional barriers to care, including geographic isolation, transportation challenges, workforce shortages, poverty, and fragmented systems of care.
Over the two-year planning period, the West Virginia Rural Health Consortium will:
- Establish and strengthen a multi-sector regional consortium representing healthcare, behavioral health, public health, recovery, emergency services, community organizations, and individuals with lived experience.
- Conduct a comprehensive assessment of regional needs and existing resources related to substance use prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and supportive services.
- Identify gaps in services and the behavioral health workforce, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
- Examine opportunities to expand access to evidence-based treatment, including medications for opioid use disorder.
- Strengthen peer recovery and behavioral health workforce capacity.
- Improve care coordination and connections among healthcare, behavioral health, recovery, and community-based services.
- Explore opportunities for regional data sharing and improved use of data to guide service development.
- Develop a data-informed strategic implementation plan designed to support long-term regional collaboration and future funding opportunities.
The partnership with Southern Highlands will be an important component of the regional planning effort, allowing organizations with established relationships and experience serving rural West Virginia communities to work together to identify practical solutions to persistent barriers to care.
A central component of the project will be meaningful participation from individuals with lived experience of substance use and recovery. Their perspectives will help inform the Consortium’s assessment of community needs and the development of strategies that are responsive to the people and families most directly affected by substance use.
The planning initiative is intended to create the infrastructure and partnerships necessary for long-term improvements in rural behavioral health. Rather than developing services in isolation, the Consortium will focus on building a connected regional system in which prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction, healthcare, and social supports work together.
At the conclusion of the two-year planning period, the West Virginia Rural Health Consortium will have a comprehensive regional assessment, established partnerships, identified priorities, and a strategic implementation plan to guide future efforts and funding opportunities.
The West Virginia Rural Health Consortium will continue to engage community partners throughout the two-year planning period as it works to develop a coordinated, community-driven strategy for addressing substance use disorder and improving health outcomes across the region.