Collaboration in a time of crisis: Adapting a telementoring ECHO for addiction leaders during COVID-19

Abstract

Substance use disorder (SUD) organizations are often siloed, with little integration across specialty addictions treatment, primary care and hospitals, harm reduction, policy, and advocacy. COVID-19 introduced a pressing need for collaboration and leadership, given a fast-changing, high-stakes environment; widespread anxiety; and lack of guidance. This research letter describes our approach to convening and supporting leaders across the US state of Oregon’s SUD continuum during the pandemic. We rapidly developed and implemented a SUD COVID Response ECHO, adapting ECHO – a telementoring model – to convene leaders across 32 statewide agencies. Our experience allowed participants to lead their agencies to respond to real-time COVID-related needs, address existing barriers within SUD systems, and build relationships and community across statewide SUD leaders. This kind of collaboration – which helped bridge gaps among the diverse agencies, disciplines, and regions addressing SUDs in the state – was long overdue, and sows seeds for long-term advances in care for people with SUD.

Keywords:

• Substance-related disorders
• COVID-19
• substance use treatment
• ECHO model
• continuing medical education
• case-based learning

Acknowledgements

Authors would like to acknowledge all of Oregon’s SUD leaders who participated in ECHO for their comradery, collaboration, and hard work during the first months of the COVID pandemic. They would like to acknowledge Drs. Raymundo Garcia-Dwyer, Jennifer Hartley, and Cydney Heims for taking weekly notes and the Oregon ECHO Network for their support.

Additional information

Funding

The project described was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, through Grant Award Number UL1TR002369. ECHO was funded through Oregon SAMHSA/CSAT State Targeted Response contract [1H79T1080258]. Funding organizations had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.