The Lake Cumberland Area Response to Opioids in Rural Communities (A-ROC) Consortium was created in May 2019, as a result of a multi-year opioid-focused initiative led by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). A-ROC strives to strengthen and expand substance use disorder / opioid use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery service delivery within the 10-county Lake Cumberland region. By expanding the options for SUD/OUD services across the care spectrum, A-ROC is helping rural residents access treatment and move towards recovery.
Core members of the A-ROC Consortium have over 200 years combined experience in providing quality services that improve the lives of Lake Cumberland-area residents. These members include lead agency, Lake Cumberland Community Action Agency, Lake Cumberland District Health Department, Lake Cumberland Area Development District and Adanta. Other partners include local health-related partners, social service providers, business leaders, law enforcement and those directly affected by substance use disorder.
Increase community education to reduce the stigma related to SUD/OUD
Increase the number of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) providers in our region
Increase recovery options available to Lake Cumberland-area residents
who are at risk for, have been diagnosed with, and/or are in treatment and/or recovery for OUD
of individuals who are at risk for, have been diagnosed with, and/or are in treatment and/or recovery for OUD
located in HRSA-designated rural areas, as defined by the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer.
In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency. Rural providers and communities in particular face a number of challenges in providing and accessing SUD/OUD services. The national shortage of providers who administer medication-assisted treatment (MAT), including waivered providers who prescribe buprenorphine, is a critical issue. More than half of rural counties still lack physicians with a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. In addition to workforce shortages, rural communities face barriers such as stigma, transportation, and costs associated with setting up MAT and other SUD/OUD services.
Rural opioid users are more likely than their urban counterparts to have socioeconomic vulnerabilities, including limited educational attainment, poor health status, lack of health insurance, and low income, which may further limit their abilities to access treatment. The A-ROC Consortium serves as a firm foundation in a regional framework to bring rural communities in south central Kentucky back from the grips of the opioid epidemic.