Community Health initiative in a Utah jail reduces recidivism and saves lives
Dominique started using drugs at 13 years old. In her 20s, she escalated to selling drugs to maintain her habit. When she was incarcerated, she had 10 warrants out for her arrest.
But in the Sanpete County Jail in rural central Utah, Dominique’s life turned around thanks to the work of Cheryl Swapp and Intermountain Health’s Community Health team.
The team was recently recognized nationally for their work that drastically reduced repeat offender bookings in the jail, but the project started back in 2020 when the Community Health team received a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Planning Grant to conduct a robust needs assessment in central Utah.
The needs assessment identified a critical need to support prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts for individuals with opioid use disorder in the six-county region. In 2021, Intermountain received two HRSA RCORP grants: Implementation III and the Psychostimulant Support Grant, totaling $1.5 million in funding.
“We combined strong community partnerships with Intermountain resources to apply for the federal grants that have allowed us to do this work and make a positive impact on the livelihood and well-being of many in this rural community,” said Sarah Diefendorf, community health director and government grants leader.
With the funding in July 2022, Intermountain hired Cheryl, a community health worker employed by the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office.
Cheryl works with individuals with substance and opioid use disorders in the Sanpete County Jail. She conducts substance and opioid use screenings and offers Moral Reconation Therapy and peer support classes for individuals in the criminal justice system and those exiting from jail.
“Cheryl kept in contact with a rehab [facility] that I wanted to go to and made sure they had a bed for me,” Dominique said.
Dominique is a year sober, employed, reconnected with her children, and grateful for Cheryl’s impact in her life. “Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.
In the 18 months before Cheryl was hired, Sanpete County had 599 repeat offender bookings. In the 18 months after a community health worker began work in jail, there have been 236 repeat offender bookings, representing a 61% reduction in recidivism.
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Cheryl and the Intermountain Community Health team recently presented this work at the 2024 HRSA Reverse Site Visit meetings in Washington, D.C.
The 1,000-person audience of grantees and HRSA officials voted this team’s presentation as the top winner among six other grantees based on community impact, creativity, wow factor, applicability, and overall presentation.
“Receiving this recognition with our great team by my side was amazing,” Cheryl said. “To have our hard work be recognized nationally was just an unbelievable feeling — it still feels surreal.”
Members of the Community Health team involved in this work include:
“I am extremely proud of this team,” said Sarah. “This award is one representation of their unbelievably hard work, creativity, and dedication to the individuals we serve.”
“Receiving this recognition has made me want to get back to work at the jail and double our efforts on what we are doing,” Cheryl said. “There are people back at the Sanpete County Jail who are waiting to take that first step in a lifestyle change, and I can’t wait to be there to help them. There’s so much more I want to do to expand the program before the grant ends.”
The Community Health team has already used lessons learned from this work in central Utah to secure additional grant funds to replicate this program in Washington County.
“This work embodies one of our core values as an organization: We are better together,” Sarah said. “We would not see the success we celebrate today with our work on opioid use in Central Utah without the strong support and collaboration with our community partners and project officers at HRSA. This funding is giving us the opportunity to build a new program to respond to a community need together.”
Intermountain was supported by HRSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1.5 million with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources.