Manchin, Capito Announce $3 Million To Treat, Prevent Substance Use Disorders In West Virginia Rural Communities

Wheeling, WV– U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $3,000,000 from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to three healthcare facilities across West Virginia. This funding is part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Implementation that works to combat the drug epidemic and expand substance use disorder treatment, prevention and recovery services in rural communities.

 

“Every West Virginian has been impacted by the drug epidemic but for West Virginians living in rural communities, accessing treatment and recovery services can be especially difficult. I am pleased HRSA is investing in three healthcare facilities in West Virginia that will provide treatment and recovery services, as well as work to prevent substance use disorders in rural communities. And due to my efforts to change HRSA’s classification system that excluded multiple rural communities, Wirt County Health Service Association is receiving this funding for the first time. I won’t stop fighting for funding and resources to fight the drug epidemic and support West Virginians in crisis,” said Senator Manchin.

 

“This past year has been devastating for our nation’s continued battle against the addiction crisis, especially in more rural states like West Virginia. This epidemic has touched all of us one way or another, and it has left lasting scars on our families and communities. Providing our communities with the resources needed to combat substance use is a vital part of our recovery efforts, as well as providing access to maternal services and obstetrics care. This individual approach helps us create innovative solutions, while setting West Virginians on the road to recovery. This funding announced today will help strengthen that effort,” Senator Capito said.

In 2020, Senator Manchin called on HRSA to change the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA) codes, which is the rural classification methodology used to determine a large percentage of grants and awards for rural health providers in West Virginia. Senator Manchin fought to include language in the Fiscal Year 2020 Appropriations, directing the Economic Research Services and Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to develop an update to their rural classification methodology and submitted comments to HRSA on their proposed changes to six West Virginia counties, including Wirt, in October. In January 2021, Senator Manchin announced the revisions to the RUCA codes which meant the six West Virginia counties are now considered rural, in turn allowing dozens of rural West Virginia health providers to be eligible for funding through HRSA.