Louisiana Health Care Practitioners
- Project Title: Reduce & Reverse: Helping Rural Communities Curtail the Opioid Crisis
- Grant Period: RCORP-MAT Grantee (09-2019 – 08/2022)
- Program Representative Interviewed: Alec Jeansonne, COO, Administrator
- Location: Cottonport, Louisiana
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Program Overview: The Louisiana Health Care Practitioners (LHCP) network
includes five Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and partners with the Louisiana Public Health Institute
and local mental health providers to deliver a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program to
rural Louisiana residents. The clinic employs family nurse practitioners who deliver MAT services
to the patient population, as well as scribes who provide case management services and walk the
patient through the program. Patients have the ability to make same-day appointments and schedule
multiple appointments on a single day, which helps reduce transportation and scheduling barriers.
The program also uses telehealth to provide mental health services. The ability to bill for
telehealth services has helped the program's sustainability.
LHCP focuses on treating their patients holistically and offers a variety of services through the MAT program including motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and rational motive behavioral therapy. Patients progress through the program in phases and learn about how to achieve a stable and sustainable recovery. After a patient has graduated from the program, program staff help patients find support services like local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and/or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings. The program is also considering partnering with the local drug court system to increase coordination with patients involved in the criminal justice system.