The growth of new partnerships is leading to expanded offerings from WVCTSI Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) this winter. Three new ECHO projects are underway. Using the ECHO “hub and spoke” model, each ECHO Project will include a brief expert presentation on a related topic, followed by a de-identified case presentation or policy/practice questions for discussion.
The first new ECHO is in collaboration with the WVU Center of Excellence for Addiction Medicine. The WVCTSI Project ECHO Program is launching a six-week cohort style ECHO program around quality improvement (QI) for substance use disorder (SUD). The project will introduce participants to QI, walk them through the process, and get feedback on their current or future QI projects. This project is funded by the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In the second ECHO, the WVCTSI Project ECHO Program is partnering with Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s Division of Addiction Sciences, and West Virginia University’s Department of Behavioral Medicine to launch a 12-session ECHO series for primary care organizations in the area of pregnant and parenting women (PPW) with substance use disorder (SUD). Participants from primary care settings across West Virginia are invited to participate and present de-identified cases for the interdisciplinary discussion during the sessions. One hour of Continuing Medical Education (CME) will be available for each session for all who participate. This project is supported by the Danya Institute.
These sessions take place via Zoom on the second Monday of each month from 12-1 p.m. Interested participants from West Virginia primary care settings should follow this link to register.
The third ECHO Project is geared towards student support personnel working in various roles at West Virginia colleges and universities will be launched in February 2022. The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the West Virginia Community and Technical College System will be partnering with the Project ECHO team at the West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI) to offer a six-session ECHO series on Campus Mental Health. Each session of the series will include a brief expert presentation on a topic related to college student mental health, followed by a case study for discussion.
These sessions will take place via Zoom every other Tuesday from 12-1 p.m. starting on February 1, 2022. Participants from campus counseling centers, health centers, student support, advising, housing, activities, conduct, or campus safety offices will be invited to present cases for interdisciplinary discussion and should follow this link to register.
“What makes Project ECHO such a good mentoring and training program is its flexibility to be used for a variety of topics both clinical and non-clinical,” said Jay Mason, director of community programs and the WVCTSI Project ECHO. “We are excited to establish these new partnerships within West Virginia and expand the reach of the ECHO Program with these new projects.”
These three new ECHOs are offered in addition to the six other ECHOs already facilitated by WVCTSI, creating a total of nine different subject areas available to participants.
All sessions are recorded and uploaded to the WV Project ECHO YouTube page for additional viewing.
For more information on participating in the ECHO project, please contact one of the WVCTSI Project ECHO team members.
The ECHO platform, which originated at the University of New Mexico, is utilized nationwide to address various health needs in individual states.
WVCTSI Background
WVCTSI is funded by an IDeA Clinical and Translational grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U54GM104942) to support the mission of building clinical and translational research infrastructure and capacity to impact health disparities in West Virginia.