[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6133026,"mediaKeyId","5705971-4453898aa94a28fa2fefc90b392d7ff1","parentId",5705971,"title","Beacon Community Connection describes warm line, peer support and ER response that increased self-referrals for treatment","audioSeconds",62,"startMs",3608000,"endMs",3670000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5705971-4453898aa94a28fa2fefc90b392d7ff1&start=3608&end=3670","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5705971-4453898aa94a28fa2fefc90b392d7ff1/thumbnail_3608000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6133026/Louisiana/Beacon-Community-Connection-describes-warm-line-peer-support-and-ER-response-that-increased-self-referrals-for-treatment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6133026-fbd1162013e75122696340475efa53df/orig.mp4?Expires=1775250724&Signature=XyO5E7OijfjXNVugQ-UtNdHYQIc5emo0KP3vupHfsDF5A~~z8Zuo-9Z0J8rN1UDXxZ~zuyPZBDRVibPLvrYBzPI5WkkLZsueMdlkvwsFXyEEprCpEZgQOrIvIdqP7J8jAtVHVPjBV0~lyHcjIqoJ-5veHSKDuzQbb4vZijFFJQ36ubgndSNT3m6z9AwAr3I66mxjZOmb5vDaPLtp873hi27E70tNn-9Al8E2DHY4CusJvcnsOVuwl4LQ73B7NPuyq2mSssSQdLbSBMm3BQ1tyISnzScxgGxuSMvI39pcqHJgNTy2ayCZPv4Iyfv-Dwy9lejr-T5Y-Xdrv2Qf7x48PQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Louisiana Legislature","date","2025-08-27T00:00:00Z","article","NEW ORLEANS (not specified) — Beacon Community Connection told Louisiana's rural health task force on Wednesday that a combination of peer support, a 24/7 emergency-room response and a noncrisis \"warm line\" have helped connect people in rural areas to treatment and social services.

Holly Howitt, founder and executive director of Beacon, described a program that hires community health workers and certified peer support specialists who respond to emergency departments, help patients find treatment placements and provide social-care navigation. A peer specialist's written account read at the meeting described waiting with a hospitalized man in an emergency-room lobby overnight to ensure he reached an inpatient bed the next morning; the peer said the client completed treatment, moved into sober living and found employment.

\"He waited 13 hours in that hospital lobby for a chance to begin recovery and he took it,\" Howitt read from the peer support specialist's account.

Program details: Beacon operates in Region 4, Region 5 and parts of Monroe and Baton Rouge area regions, hires certified peer support specialists, and runs a 24/7 ER response that can be dispatched to nearly every hospital in Region 4. Beacon also operates a warm line (noncrisis support and navigation) and a social-care electronic record built on a HIPAA-compliant Salesforce platform to track referrals and outcomes.

Funding and results: Howitt said Beacon's ally initiative began in 2023 with funding from the Acadiana Area Human Services District and other grants including a federal implementation grant (described in the meeting as HRSA funding) that supported prevention activities. Beacon has received more than 100 warm-line calls since launching the line this year and reported reductions in hospital and emergency-department revisits for people it serves, though Howitt did not provide raw pre/post figures at the meeting.

Mainstreaming treatment and stigma reduction: The task force heard that a clinic in Jennings integrated medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder into primary care so patients received behavioral health services in the same waiting room as other primary-care patients. Task force members said that approach reduced stigma and produced a large increase in self-referrals to the clinic.

Questions and next steps: Task force members asked for demographic breakdowns and more program data; Howitt said Beacon can provide caller and client demographics on request. She also discussed harm-reduction activities such as naloxone distribution and challenges some hospitals place on on-site naloxone distribution despite standing orders.

Members suggested Beacon's models could be funded or expanded using opioid-abatement and other local funds, and several task force members asked Beacon to participate in upcoming regional consortium meetings.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Health Disparities in Rural Areas Aug 27, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","NEW ORLEANS (not specified) — Beacon Community Connection told Louisiana's rural health task force on Wednesday that a combination of peer support, a 24/7 emergency-room response and a noncrisis \"warm line\" have helped connect people in rural areas to treatment and social services.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature LA, Louisiana","taxId",78558,"location","Louisiana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6133030,"Rural health task force narrows 2025 agenda to behavioral health, rural delivery model and coverage gaps",3122,478000,3600000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5705971-4453898aa94a28fa2fefc90b392d7ff1&start=478&end=3600","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5705971-4453898aa94a28fa2fefc90b392d7ff1/thumbnail_478000.jpg","/articles/6133030/Louisiana/Rural-health-task-force-narrows-2025-agenda-to-behavioral-health-rural-delivery-model-and-coverage-gaps","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6133030-8bab091406887988a3c5338b9d26fa61/orig.mp4?Expires=1775250724&Signature=X7gyzAk-dmyo55E9iBJdmG0SaoiP5Nv6ZzI3ZPnThkEKMnBrJ~e641wK1QS~wNE0klWuZL4C4RaNkeDP4nuuYogIWKIo1hCVr9PTDl7zb4efrdSbKfUjKAN2dpt8UfnjggdU7lfW4P2Q0acFO-srxpf1cG1Q1MBB4onzUELWRpjqRJ6zdwqn9wFAxVpqPFp8OfNvMjn3S8vRYiDRe4nAPaAfFPBHuZGMOquKVuJgd~x3nTc1Qu~z~nF-sEFjv6-7Y2vPtoZJnhgiRs969R2fBvkiAZBm3FPA-uXU~9eIy0NVb46Kb5XMbNWjeynY7h4IlyQq8cWAjFlsCBhm0RLn9A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","NEW ORLEANS (not specified) — The state task force created under ACR 55 said Wednesday it will focus this year on behavioral health and addiction, designing a delivery-care model tailored to rural Louisiana, and identifying gaps in insurance coverage that limit access to care.

The decision came during a meeting chaired by Karen Weibel, who said the group must \"stay on track\" to deliver recommendations to the legislature before Feb. 1 and that the task force's work has already informed prior legislative efforts. \"We have to think differently about how we want to give the same level of care\" in rural areas, Weibel said.

Why it matters: Louisiana ranks 50th in many statewide health measures, and members said improving outcomes in rural parishes could move the state's overall standing. The task force framed social determinants of health'including poverty, transportation and access to healthy food'as the major drivers behind poor outcomes and said a rural delivery model must address those nonmedical factors as well as expand clinical access.

Most important facts: The group agreed the subcommittees should concentrate on (1) behavioral health and addiction services; (2) a rural delivery-care model that uses community health workers, mobile clinics and parish health-unit partnerships; and (3) chronic-disease management and insurance coverage gaps, including Medicaid-related issues. The chair said federal rural transformation funds'which she described as a $50 billion national allocation, half of which will be distributed across states and half through competitive grants'create a tight application timeline and an opportunity for state proposals.

Discussion details: Members and guests stressed that rural medicine must differ from metropolitan models because of workforce limits and payer mix. \"Primary payer mix? Medicaid,\" one task force member asked and answered; participants noted many rural clinics rely heavily on Medicaid and on underinsured or uninsured patients, which complicates clinic sustainability. Task force members also discussed broadband as a necessary but insufficient tool for telehealth: high-speed service to parish facilities helps, they said, but household affordability and in-home connectivity remain barriers.

Staff direction and next steps: The chair said she will convene subcommittee meetings focused on the three priorities and will share membership with the group. Morgan, a Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) designee, said LDH will align the task force's work with the department's Louisiana Health Equity Consortium and assist with Region 4 planning. No formal vote was recorded; members reached a working consensus to proceed with subcommittees and meeting dates.

Other actions under discussion included exploring mobile health clinics, expanded roles for community health workers (CHWs), partnerships with parish health units for telehealth access, and pilot projects that tie social services (food, housing navigation) to clinical care. Members repeatedly emphasized collaboration with existing state efforts such as maternal health initiatives and local pilot programs rather than duplicating work.

Agency limits and cautions: Speakers repeatedly noted the need to avoid assuming local or state agencies can unilaterally solve structural poverty or water/sanitation problems. The group emphasized practical, demonstrable pilot models that can be scaled with aligned funding and partnerships.

What to watch next: The task force will publish subcommittee membership and meeting dates and intends to prepare specific, legislatively actionable recommendations this session. The chair said the group's goal remains improving rural outcomes so Louisiana moves off the bottom of national rankings.

","At a meeting chaired by Karen Weibel, Louisiana's ACR 55 task force on rural health identified behavioral health and addiction, a rural-focused delivery care model and gaps in insurance coverage as its top three priorities for the year and agreed to form subcommittees and schedule meetings to prepare recommendations for the legislature.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6133021,"Public commenter warns of ambulance shortages in several rural parishes",92,5542000,5634000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5705971-4453898aa94a28fa2fefc90b392d7ff1&start=5542&end=5634","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5705971-4453898aa94a28fa2fefc90b392d7ff1/thumbnail_5542000.jpg","/articles/6133021/Louisiana/Public-commenter-warns-of-ambulance-shortages-in-several-rural-parishes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6133021-f90c37b29933ee9a9f36f70da5a66643/orig.mp4?Expires=1775250724&Signature=HEUr-HfUK6cInuAxuxujQc296Ny8ff4k6vseFzYAYY0hQI7~xcXNlhlr99eHbpSWeGM1c-0LdaDNtDgPN4A8007oOEpfDZeLVDeXt8eXq38Fxc~hBFCNDAtf9HXdFxAGpXP1Dz2naMKEX-DAnYU7S1208ZPrnOrHBqdtfBqXvvgxKsb5lIIHaCffqdG9pExSAVyVM3TocrA~E4~a9fTOFWR4ROhcoSOg-NqmoqreHk-1k8otSK9GJDGbrRcoKUaq3EDnyTrWwRqrVCGLlwacqSwJSfdL5AYvjoSpN1iBd9choouNiKw7m16YUvQLjDDZezAlngS15y92BmG4dcndRg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","NEW ORLEANS (not specified) — During public comment at the ACR 55 task force meeting, Walter Beach, who identified his nonprofit as EMS Reform, said ambulance service is intermittent or absent in several rural parishes and urged regional, public solutions.

Beach told the task force Catahoula Parish went eight months without ambulance service and that Saint Helena Parish faces an upcoming police-jury vote on providing ambulance coverage. He said monopoly provisions in some parish contracts discourage EMT retention and reduce competition.

\"One of the solutions I'd like to bring is maybe a conglomerate of the rural parishes getting together and to provide ambulance service,\" Beach said. He recommended public models that can access grants and other public funding.

The task force chair thanked Beach and said EMS gaps fit into the broader rural delivery model discussion. The comment was recorded for the task force record; no formal action was taken at the meeting.

","A community member who said he represents EMS Reform told the task force several rural parishes lack continuous ambulance service and urged regional solutions and removal of monopoly clauses that hinder EMS competition.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Beacon Community Connection describes warm line, peer support and ER response that increased self-referrals for treatment

Rural health task force narrows 2025 agenda to behavioral health, rural delivery model and coverage gaps

Public commenter warns of ambulance shortages in several rural parishes