Belmont University today announced the receipt of a three-year, $6.4 million grant from Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Council, receiving $2.9 million in the first year. The grant will support the expansion of opioid use disorder (OUD) education to students and clinicians, reducing stigma and improving the care through hands-on education. The University is among 85 entities across the state to receive grant awards in the first round of funding.
Belmont will address the opioid epidemic through a new program — "BU TRAINS,” an acronym for Belmont University Treatment, Harm Reduction, increased Access, innovative Interprofessional training, and creating Non-threatening community environments that minimize Stigma for patients with opioid use disorders. The mobile clinics will be designed to ‘bridge the gap’ providing frontline access to care.
"We are honored to receive this funding, which will allow Belmont to play a critical role in addressing the ongoing opioid crisis in our community, said Dr. Sharrel Pinto, dean of Belmont’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “The grant award will enable us to develop innovative, interdisciplinary mobile clinics that can train the next generation of practitioners and bring high-quality, comprehensive care directly to those who need it most, acting as a force for positive change in our region.”
To fully realize this vision, the University plans to increase access to harm reduction by implementing grant-funded mobile clinics run by faculty and students with support from simulation-based education. The mobile clinics will provide low-threshold, low barrier harm reduction and interdisciplinary care through partnership with organizations serving unhoused and transitional living populations in middle Tennessee.
“Our goal is to leverage the expertise of our pharmacy, nursing and other health sciences programs to provide essential services like harm reduction, counseling and community outreach,” said Dr. Anderson Spickard, dean of the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University. “We have a unique chance to remove barriers to care and make a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and families struggling with opioid use disorder. We are grateful for this opportunity to live out Belmont's aspirational aim to equip people to solve the world’s complex problems through teaching, research and service.”
The newly established “BU TRAINS” program will be co-led by Dr. Amy Henneman, associate professor of pharmacology in the Thomas F. Frist College of Medicine with dual appointment as an associate professor pharmacy practice in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Dr. Tracy Frame, director of interprofessional engagement in the Center for Interprofessional Engagement and Simulation. An interdisciplinary team from physical and occupational therapy, social work, pharmacy, nursing, and medicine will work together to support student learning and outreach through the mobile clinics.
Planning and implementation are set to begin in July 2024.