Ross County is in the Appalachian region of southern Ohio. The Partnerships project was led by the Ross County Health District. During the planning phase, the district collected and analyzed data related to treatment provider capacity, barriers to treatment, provider viewpoints, and mock services requests. Based on its analyses, the district implemented the following activities:

• Strategic deployment of iPad devices to expand data collection and support access to substance use disorder and peer recovery telehealth services.
• Funded a peer recovery support specialist position and a community social worker position to expand regional outreach network, provide wraparound services, and remove barriers to treatment services.
• Developed a data warehouse to store and analyze cross-sector substance use- and overdose-related data that also served as a secure Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant warehouse that could track clients and expand referral processes. Initial efforts focused on platform setup, datapoint identification, and developing data use agreements with data collection partners. The next phase involved development of a public-facing dashboard to share aggregate-level overdose and trend identification analyses with the wider community.
• Implemented a multifaceted public awareness and education campaign that increased public awareness of treatment and telehealth services and peer recovery support services and focused on stigma reduction.