The Institute for Community Health (ICH) will join the OTP TTA Webinar series to share insights from the implementation and evaluation of mobile opioid treatment program (OTP) medication units in Massachusetts. Drawing on interviews with providers and patients, the session will highlight the real-world impacts of mobile units, key considerations for implementation, and practical strategies from the field to address common challenges. The expansion of mobile opioid treatment clinics has increased greatly since regulations opened up in June 2021.
Teams representing three mobile sites will join the webinar to share their experiences implementing methadone dispensing from a mobile site.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe the impact of mobile opioid treatment programs on both patients and OTP providers.
- Identify unique considerations for developing and implementing a mobile opioid treatment program.
- Summarize common challenges experienced in a mobile opioid treatment program and ways these issues can be avoided or addressed.
Presenter: Andrés Hoyos-Céspedes (he/him) is an Epidemiologist II and Research and Evaluation Project Manager at the Institute for Community Health (ICH). He leads and supports projects in participatory evaluation, assessment and planning, and applied research to improve healthcare delivery systems and community well-being. His work spans evaluating programs and interventions in behavioral health, substance use, recovery support, access to care for LEP patients, violence prevention, child and youth development, and social determinants of health. Andrés brings expertise in program evaluation, quantitative methods, and culturally responsive evaluation.
Facilitator: Ranjani Paradise (she/her) is the Director of Evaluation at the Institute for Community Health. She leads the development of ICH’s evaluation services and is project director for mixed methods research and evaluation projects across a range of topic areas, with a focus on behavioral health and substance use. Her portfolio also includes projects related to health equity, language access, workforce development, health systems advocacy and transformation, and social determinants of health. Ranjani’s current work primarily focuses on substance use disorder treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support programs, and she has extensive experience working with community health centers and other community-based healthcare providers.
OTP Panel Participants: Ware, Worcester, and Wellfleet.