Systems of Care

Health Management Associates (HMA) is providing a learning collaborative (LC) to build local patient-centered, evidence-based, sustainable and integrated practices across treatment and recovery ecosystems by:

  1. Improving access to MAT;
  2. Enhancing and expanding residential treatment services;
  3. And meeting the needs of persons with co-occurring SUD and mental illness.

To accomplish its objectives, each of the three focus areas has a mentor who coordinates all activities and ensures teams have the expert coaching and other resources necessary to succeed. Teams will map all services and funding, identify gaps, and study the most effective models and practices from around the nation that address equitable access to SUD care. Teams will craft local system improvement projects or enhancements that build on current collaborative efforts and improve access and outcomes in these focus areas. Throughout the project the mentors and project team will convene six LC sessions to provide guidance on developing plans, skills, and tools to implement county or agency-specific improvement activities as well as measures to track project outcomes. Coaches meet regularly with each team, providing customized support to meet the participants’ needs. Participants will then in turn share best practices, successes, and failures so that all can learn from each other and fully benefit. Breakout opportunities allow for in-depth discussions on specific topics with HMA subject matter expert support recruited by topic as needed. Structured and supported efforts to address health equity and rigorous program quality improvement practices will cut across all focus areas.

Participating Partners 2022-2024

  • Family Health Center of San Diego County
  • Imperial County Behavioral Health Services
  • Janus of Santa Cruz County
  • Mendocino County
  • Santa Barbara Alcohol and Drug Programs
  • Walter’s House / Fourth and Hope of Yolo County

Between 2018 and 2022 HMA operated this program on a countywide stakeholder engagement model in a total of 16 counties around the state. That model carried out process improvement and TA programming to strengthen the addiction treatment ecosystem with evidence-based, high-fidelity use of medication assisted treatment (MAT) and behavioral therapies. In collaboration with county leaders and stakeholders, HMA convened multi-day process improvements events — live and virtually — to provide addiction treatment training, facilitate county-wide dialogue to identify system gaps and barriers, and build consensus to develop a blueprint for an improved future state for the county’s treatment system.

Participating Counties 2018-2020

  • Fresno
  • Humboldt
  • Imperial
  • Kern
  • Lake
  • Mendocino
  • Orange
  • Riverside
  • Shasta
  • Ventura

Participating Counties 2020-2022

  • Marin
  • Orange
  • San Bernardino
  • Santa Barbara
  • Santa Cruz
  • Siskiyou
  • Yolo

Project Leads