The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences on Wednesday announced that it had received $3 million from the Department of Human Services to reimburse facilities across the state that are providing treatment for people with opioid use disorders.
Facilities providing medication-assisted treatment to relieve cravings and withdrawal symptoms, along with counseling, will be supported by the funds, UAMS said in a news release. The money will cover the costs of medication, including methadone, and expenses for hiring peer support specialists and travel costs for patients.
It’s part of a broader effort known as the Medication Assisted Treatment Recovery Initiative for Arkansas Rural Communities, or MATRIARC.
Grants have been awarded to the following clinics: A Better You Med Spa of Springdale; Aurora Rehabilitation Clinic of Fayetteville; Compassionate Care Clinic of Searcy; Counseling Services of Jacksonville; The Guinn Clinic of El Dorado; Healing Hands Addiction Center of Warren; Ideal Option of Pasco, Washington; Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness of Hot Springs; River Valley Medical Wellness of Russellville; St Francis House, NWA of Springdale; and Western Arkansas Counseling & Guidance Center of Fort Smith.
Those clinics cover areas in 44 of the state’s 75 counties, according to the release.
Dr. Michael Mancino, a professor of the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, oversees MATRIARC. He said the funds help ensure people living below the poverty line can get treatment and clinics don’t have to turn anyone away.
“We look forward to continuing these efforts with previous and new awardees,” he said.
More than 92,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a nearly 30% increase from 2019.
Overdoses in Arkansas increased by more than 40%, with 515 people dying.
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