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SAMHSA News Room
Contact Media Services: (240) 276-2130

SAMHSA News Bulletin

Date: 9/8/2008
Media Contact: SAMHSA Press Office
Telephone: 240-276-2130

SAMHSA Awards $66 Million for Programs Teaching Early Intervention Techniques to Use with Patients at Risk for Substance Abuse

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is awarding $66 million over the next five years for 15 cooperative agreements to provide communities expanded capacity to identify individuals with substance abuse problems and intervene appropriately. These cooperative agreement programs will implement Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (SBIRT) projects, which help health providers learn how to recognize patients at risk for problems related to substance abuse and, if so, how to provide timely and effective help.  The announcement was made today by Tevi Troy, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, during a meeting convened by the White House.

 “SBIRT programs have been proven to decrease the frequency and severity of drug and alcohol use and increase the number of people who enter specialized treatment,” said Tevi Troy.  “They teach techniques that will help health care providers identify individuals with emerging or undiagnosed substance abuse problems and present them with a workable strategy for reducing or stopping their drug use.”

"Denial is a symptom of the disease of addiction," said John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. "These SBIRT grants will help our medical community address this serious problem and continue to increase our potential to make a significant impact on the lives of drug abusers, their families, and our Nation's health and well-being."

Four SBIRT programs are expected to each receive between $10.2 million and $12.5 million over the course of the next five years – between $2 million and $2.5 million per program per year.  The actual award amounts may vary, depending on the availability of funds and the progress achieved by the awardees.  The funds are awarded and administered by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. 

“About 95 percent of the people who have a diagnosable substance use disorder are unlikely to seek treatment, largely because they do not realize they have a problem,” said SAMHSA Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H.  “By encouraging health care professionals to identify at-risk populations and intervene early, we can reduce the lingering burden of substance abuse on individuals, their families and our health care institutions.”

In addition, 11 cooperative agreements totaling $3.75 million per year, or $19 million over five years, will be awarded for the Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (SBIRT) Medical Residency Program.  The primary purpose of these cooperative agreements is to develop and implement training programs that will teach medical residents how to provide evidence-based screening, brief intervention, brief treatment, or referral to specialty treatment, for patients who either have, or are at risk for, a substance use disorder. Another purpose of the program is to promote adoption and wider dissemination of SBIRT and its related practices in local and statewide medical communities.

The four SBIRT cooperative agreement programs are:

The Dena Nena dba Tanana Chiefs Conference of Fairbanks, Alaska is expected to receive $2.1 million in the first year and $10.2 million over the next five years to expand its Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center’s SBIRT capacities.  These expanded capabilities are projected to help at least 10,000 patients over the next five years.

The state of West Virginia is expected to receive $2.2 million in the first year and $11.9 million over the next five years to provide enhanced SBIRT services to rural Appalachian community health centers.  Among the goals of this program is to greatly expand screening and counseling services to patients at these health centers.

The state of Missouri is expected to receive $2.3 million in the first year and $12.3 million over the next five years to enhance the SBIRT capacity of its statewide healthcare system.  Over the next five years the program is projected to screen over 80,000 patients and provide expanded early intervention services to those in need of substance abuse treatment.

The state of Georgia Department of Human Resources is expected to receive $2.5 million in the first year and $12.6 million over the next five years for a targeted project upgrading the SBIRT capabilities of Georgia’s two largest medical facilities: Grady Health System in Atlanta and the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon. This program is expected to screen 356,010 patients at these facilities over the next five years and offer intervention and referral services to those needing help with substance abuse problems.

For additional information on the award requirements, see: http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2008/ti_08_001.aspx

Awards for the SBIRT Medical Residency Programs will be as follows:

Salinas, Calif.--Natividad Medical Center, $280,781 first year, $1.1 million over five years:  The Natividad Family Practice Residency Program will disseminate a cross-cultural approach to SBIRT through practices available at associated clinics as well as local health care agencies.

San Francisco--Regents of the University of California, $373,929 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  This grantee will implement an SBIRT training curriculum for almost 200 primary care residents and will disseminate SBIRT practices across all departments of San Francisco General Hospital, regionally and statewide.

New Haven, Conn.--Yale University, $373,924 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  This university will promote the adoption of SBIRT among all primary care specialty residents for internal medicine, pediatrics, ob/gyn, psychiatry and emergency medicine; program funds will be used to train 254 residents.

Chicago--Access Community Health Network, $375,000 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  This health center, which has 50 centers in medically underserved areas of Chicago, will train physicians and other health professionals in SBIRT practices.  By collaborating with residency programs at the University of Chicago, Jackson Park and Mt. Sinai Hospitals expect to train 276 residents.

Boston--Children’s Hospital Corporation, $374,991 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  In addition to developing the SBIRT curriculum to teach pediatric clinicians, this grantee will disseminate the curriculum to pediatrics and family medicine faculty at Children’s Hospital. 

New York--Albany Medical College, $375,000 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  Partnering with the New York Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, this organization intends to train 387 medical residents in SBIRT practices by using the World Health Organization model and the Albany Medical College neuroscience addiction module.   

Kettering, Ohio--Kettering Medical Center, $281,250 first year; $1.4 million over five years:  This grantee will develop and implement two levels of training programs that will teach medical residents how to use SBIRT practices  The goal is to screen 90 percent of patients entering their medical center using the SBIRT system by the end of the third year.

Portland, Ore.--Oregon Health & Science University, $368,172 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  This university will partner with the Northwest Frontier Addiction Technology Transfer Center and the RMC Corp.to disseminate and evaluate a curriculum promoting SBIRT practices to primary care medical residents.  More than 400 family practice, preventive medicine and internal medicine residents will be trained.

Pennsylvania--University of Pittsburgh, $380,661 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  This statewide initiative will use an evidence-based curriculum to train approximately 750 medical residents and faculty in SBIRT skills and practices.

Texas--University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, $375,000 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  Under the leadership of the Department of Pediatrics, this organization will train 539 residents in SBIRT skills.

Washington, D.C.--Howard University, $374,660 first year; $1.8 million over five years:  Howard University College of Medicine and Howard University Hospital will make the SBIRT program a standard training component for medical residents in primary care settings and will also incorporate it into regular medical practice.  Approximately 560 residents will be trained. 

For additional information on the award requirements, see: http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2008/ti_08_003.aspx

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery system.


Page Last Updated: 9/9/2008