• Reduce harm, disease and increase the liklihood of entering treatment after interacting with our peer support specialists

AppHealthCare has committed to the incorporation of the North Carolina Opioid Action Plan, evidence-based opioid and substance use prevention strategies, harm reduction tactics and methods, including safer syringe and naloxone distribution programs. These efforts are directly aligned with our mission and values to ensure the continuation of support for the identified Health Priority of Substance Use and Misuse Prevention determined through the Community Health Assessment and reviewed by coalitions within Ashe County. The NC Opioid Action Plan Objectives align with Ashe County’s. These include the following: 

Prevention

• Cutting supply of inappropriate prescriptions and illicit opioids
• Supporting youth through targeted programs to reduce youth misuse of the drugs
• Improving maternal and prenatal care for women battling substance abuse

Reducing Harm

• Making the naloxone kits more widely available to the most burdened communities

Connecting to Care

• Expanding access to treatment and recovery support
• Addressing the needs of justice-involved populations

A data dashboard developed by the NC Department of Health and Human Services helps to track and monitor the metrics in the Opioid Action Plan.
 

• AppHealthCare Peer Support Specialists
  • In 2019, AppHealthCare hired their two, part-time, peer support specialists (PSS). Then applied for the Community Linkages to Care grant that, once received, allowed for the support of an additional (full-time) PSS to serve the district. There are three PSS that work across the district. The PSSs work as advocates for those struggling with substance use disorder by relating on a personal level through lived experience to promote trust among the people they serve. The PSSs work to serve the community through education, prevention measures, harm reduction, training, connecting individuals to care, working with justice-involved individuals, and helping with environmental and policy change work.
• Olive Branch Ministries
  • Points of Hope is a program with multiple aspects of Harm Reduction Outreach including syringe access, naloxone/narcan distribution, peer support, and justice center education.

Syringe Access became legal in North Carolina in July of 2016. SAPs are one of the most effective public health interventions for decreasing the transmission rates of HIV & other blood borne diseases such as hepatitis C, as well as connect users to treatment & other important needs such as housing or food assistance.

By expanding access to clean syringes & ensuring a safe way to dispose of biohazardous materials, SAPs create safer environments for the community at large. SAPs are shown to lead to a 66% reduction in needle-stick injury to law enforcement.

While it is a common myth that SAPs encourage, enable or increase drug use, as well as crime, decades of research from organizations including the World Health Organization & the American Medical Association, show that SAPs do none of those. Many studies show that SAPs decrease drug use by connecting otherwise marginalized people to treatment. It is estimated that SAP participants are five times more likely to enter drug treatment than non-participants.

Syringe Access allows us to build relationship with participants, thus establishing connection with people who otherwise would be isolated if someone was not willing to meet them where they are, figuratively and literally.  We believe in offering ways for individuals to stay as healthy as possible - alive and disease free. The only person who can't recover is a dead person.