USD Receives $1.23 Million Grant for Opioid Use Disorders

The University of San Diego was recently awarded a $1.23 million federal grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grant is part of HRSA’s Opioid Workforce Expansion Program (OWEP) and will be used for community-based experiential training focused on Opioid Use Disorders (OUD) and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) for students preparing to become behavioral health professionals. 

This recent segment of grants from HRSA is in response to the United States Opioid crisis and in support of the Health and Human Services Five-Point Opioid Strategy.   HRSA Administrator George Sigounas MS, PhD explains, “These funds enable HRSA grantees to continue to implement or expand substance use disorder and mental health services across the Nation,” (2018, November 3, FY18 HRSA Opioids Fundings, hrsa.gov). 

The OWEP grant is only awarded to programs meeting the most rigorous training standards and comes as an addition to USD’s existing grant from HRSA for the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET). The BHWET grant awarded in 2017 is dedicated to improving and expanding interprofessional training to meet the growing mental health needs of vulnerable, rural, and underserved children and families in Southern California.

“It is a tremendous honor for USD to receive this grant and be a part of a select group that aims to address systemically related issues to OUD and SUD. I am particularly excited about the opportunities the grant will provide for our students and the impact it will have on the San Diego community,” said Project Director and Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Nedeljko Golubovic, PhD. 

Both grants are a collaborative effort between the Department of Counseling & Marital and Family Therapy (CMFT), within the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES), and the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) program, within the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science (HSON). 

“We are thrilled to continue and expand our partnership with the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Sciences,” said Nicholas Ladany, Dean School of Leadership and Education Sciences. “The country is amid a public health emergency and the collaborative work being done by our students as a result of these grants is crucial.”

*The OWEP grant is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1,233,350 with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.

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Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is among the Top 20 Best Private Schools for Making an Impact according to The Princeton Review. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.