VCU and addiction specialists present OAA-funded toolkit to help Virginia localities use opioid-abatement funds

Dr. Jackie Bridal, a family physician at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Dr. Marshall Brooks, an assistant professor at VCU, on Oct. 24 demonstrated an OAA-funded online toolkit intended to help Virginia cities and counties apply for and use Opioid Abatement Authority grant funds. The toolkit, developed with the Virginia Society of Addiction Medicine, provides a menu of evidence-based options, community spotlights and data dashboards aimed at translating research into locally implementable programs.

"This toolkit is specifically for cities and counties to apply for and use OAA funds," Bridal said, describing a free login and sections organized around nine opioid-settlement strategic areas, including postpartum and neonatal outcomes, incarcerated populations, prevention, warm handoffs and peer recovery services. Adam Rosatelli, director of finance for the OAA, opened the webinar and said the recording and presentation materials will be posted on the OAA website.

The presenters showed concrete local examples that are documented in the toolkit. Bridal highlighted community naloxone-distribution programs and an Eastern Shore Community Services Board initiative that installed four harm-reduction vending machines stocked with supplies. She also pointed attendees to an example from Louisa County’s community service board that hired a full-time clinician/counselor and posted its OAA application online as a public example.

Bridal summarized preliminary program results the toolkit documents: an emergency-department program that increased follow-up for patients with opioid use disorder from 10 percent to 82 percent after implementing ED-to-outpatient linkages; Chesterfield County’s mobile integrated health unit that includes peer recovery specialists and provides home visits and naloxone; and other county-level initiatives that are gathering early data.

Presenters said the toolkit uses multiple data sources—claims data, Virginia Department of Health statistics and a Bright Spot model that identifies counties with better-than-expected outcomes—to help communities target priorities. Bridal showed county-level visuals for ER visits among postpartum women and for rates of medications for opioid use disorder, noting regional patterns such as higher diagnosis rates in parts of Southwest Virginia and stronger treatment linkage in other areas.

The toolkit is described as a work in progress: Bridal and Brooks asked webinar attendees to suggest additional Virginia programs for inclusion, flagged gaps they want to fill (expanded evidence menus and community-specific data), and outlined plans for qualitative interviews and iterative community engagement to refine implementation guidance. Rosatelli closed the session noting contact information for follow-up and that the academy series will continue.

The presenters emphasized the toolkit’s practical aim: not only to recommend evidence-based practices but to document how communities overcame barriers to implement them, for example how a locality sourced supplies for a Narcan vending machine or staffed peer recovery teams. The OAA indicated it will post the recording and toolkit materials on its website for public access.