Partnering with a Wisconsin Health System to Optimize Opioid Stewardship Across the Care Continuum

With support from the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy Sonderegger Research Center for Improved Medication Outcomes (SRC) partnered with Fort HealthCare, based in rural Jefferson County, Wisconsin, to develop a community-wide multicomponent sustainable intervention in which FHC will be at the center, with research support provided by researchers in the SRC, and buy-in and implementation support from the community partners (see figure 1).

This project involved a series of problem-solving sessions for actively engaging stakeholders to decide on OSP activity features.

Project Involvement

• Engaged with 3 stakeholder groups through a series of problem-solving sessions to identify Fort HealthCare’s and the community’s highest priority opioid stewardship goals and initiate plans for achieving those goals
• Involved 3 stakeholder groups:
  1. Fort HealthCare Providers involved with opioid prescribing
  2. Community stakeholders with an interest in opioids
  3. Patients/family members with lived experience with opioids
• Involved a series of problem-solving sessions for actively engaging stakeholders to decide on OSP activity features

Project Results (View the Project Summary)

• 28 individuals from Jefferson County participated in 7 stakeholder meetings
• Meetings were held in various settings within Jefferson County (e.g., Fort Memorial Hospital, Public Library in Fort Atkinson, Community meeting venue in Jefferson) as well as a couple of virtual meetings.
• Engagement with stakeholders provided valuable perspectives about opioid stewardship priorities and informed the identification of 2 future projects, each related to a different aspect of opioid stewardship

Lasting Impact of the Project

• The stakeholder engagement process facilitated new partnerships and collaborations among individuals in the county with an interest in addressing the opioid crisis
• The project has facilitated lasting momentum to continue the conceptualization and further refinement of the identified projects
• Our project team is continuing to collaborate with several stakeholders, for example, we are partnering with a public health nurse from the Jefferson County Department of Health and the Jefferson County Drug-Free Coalition to conduct an ongoing needs assessment related to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder throughout the county
• An application has been submitted for additional funding to pilot and evaluate one of the projects and there are plans to identify and apply for funding to support the other project

This project was crucial to initiating the development of a real-world OSP that addresses the concerns and leverages the assets for all members of the community that have been touched by the opioid crisis. It is imperative that as many stakeholders as possible guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of this intervention.

Importantly, this project supports federal and state efforts to reduce opioid harms and serves as a model for how communities can effectively plan and coordinate activities responding to the opioid crisis. Findings from this project have helped expand Fort HealthCare’s ability to plan, create, and draft OSP policies within their health system. Ultimately, these health system changes have the potential not only to improve treatment decisions and patients’ health but also to save patients’ lives.

Related News Stories

• Breaking the Opioid Cycle: Part 2. The second in a three-part series exploring how School of Pharmacy faculty are curbing the opioid epidemic. September 7, 2019.
• Daily Jefferson County Union “How the Opioid Crisis Struck Jefferson County and how the Community came Together to Fight It” August 14, 2019.