Telehealth News

Kentucky Launches Telehealth Program to Help Inmates in Transition

Female inmates in six Kentucky jails will have access to opioid abuse treatment via telehealth, part of a national program aimed at improving substance abuse services in prisons and for inmates about to be released.

Source: ThinkStock

By Eric Wicklund

- Female inmates at six Kentucky jails will soon have access to opioid abuse treatment via telehealth, part of a new program to give them much-needed treatment prior to their release.

The University of Kentucky is getting an $8.8 million grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to create the Kentucky Women’s Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (WJCOIN). The connected health program is designed to give these women access to treatment as they transition out of prison and back into their communities.

“When we provide evidence-based services to support women in entering remission and sustaining long-term recovery, we also positively impact our families and communities in Kentucky,” Katherine Marks, a UK College of Medicine research assistant professor and project director for the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort, said in a press release. “Related to the opioid crisis is a rapidly growing, overburdened foster care system. By creating a pathway to treatment for women, a pathway to healing can also be created for her family. These changes can have generational impacts on our community.”

The program is part of a $155 million, multi-state effort launched by the NIH in July to improve substance abuse treatment in the nation’s prisons. In all, 12 health systems and universities will take part in the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN).

“Within the broader opioid epidemic, justice-involved populations are disproportionately affected by opioid use disorder,” said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, MD. “JCOIN will help develop effective intervention and treatment strategies for this crucial setting.”

“It is vitally important to provide evidence-based approaches for people leaving criminal justice facilities in order to prevent relapse and opioid overdose which often occurs as they transition back into their communities,” she added.

In Kentucky, the prison system has become the largest provider of substance abuse services in the commonwealth, with room for some 6,000 patients. By using telehealth and mHealth tools in services such as Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) therapy, officials are hoping to expand and improve treatment options for inmates during that delicate transition to home life.

“The majority of individuals who are incarcerated will be released at some point,” Sarah Johnson, director of addiction services at the Kentucky Department of Corrections, said in the press release. “They will be your neighbor; your coworker. We want to offer them the best evidence-based treatment so they have opportunities to have a different trajectory in life. OUD is a debilitating illness, and we want to give them the tools they need to be successful.”

According to officials, community health providers will meet with the female inmates before their release to conduct screenings and medical evaluations and offer resources on the benefits and risks of medications for OUD. When those inmates are released from jail, they can then begin treatment with those providers

“We are so excited to be able to include rural jails and communities in this project, because the service delivery system for women is limited in these areas,” added Michele Staton, an associate professor at the UK College of Medicine’s Department of Behavioral Science and the program’s principal investigator. “A huge part of this grant is to build capacity in those communities, as well as strengthening treatment opportunities as women transition from jail to the community.”

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
©2012-2024 TechTarget, Inc. Xtelligent Healthcare Media is a division of TechTarget. All rights reserved. HealthITAnalytics.com is published by Xtelligent Healthcare Media a division of TechTarget.