Rochester, New York, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two public health organizations will present at NACCHO360, the annual conference hosted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), taking place in Louisville, KY, July 14–17. Leaders from West Virginia and Choctaw Nation Behavioral Health will share how they've built scalable approaches to expanding recovery access for rural and underserved populations - each built with CHESS Health's digital recovery support technology as a core component.
West Virginia's Statewide Public Health Model
In "Building a Digital Recovery System: West Virginia's Model for Public Health Impact on Substance Use Disorder," leaders from the West Virginia University Health Affairs Institute and partner provider organizations will outline a coordinated, statewide strategy for reaching West Virginians.
The approach integrates digital recovery support across multiple entry points, including treatment providers, justice systems, and community organizations, so individuals can access care regardless of where they enter the system. Digital tools extend support beyond traditional care settings - connecting people to peer support and resources around the clock, while also helping to reduce the isolation common in rural regions. Additionally, they are employing tools to support family and support networks, providing them with self-care tools and a community of peers.
Panelists include clinicians and program leaders from WVU Health Affairs Institute, Seed Sower, and Valley Health, who will share implementation strategies and lessons learned for public health agencies seeking to scale recovery support.
Choctaw Nation's Culturally Responsive Approach
The program leader from Choctaw Nation Behavioral Health (CNBH), alongside a clinician from Chi Hullo Li Residential Treatment Center, will present "Addressing SUD in Tribal Communities: Digital Recovery Support Implementation, Adoption, and Outcomes." Their presentation focuses on delivering sustained, culturally responsive recovery support across southeastern Oklahoma.
Tribal communities face some of the highest rates of substance use disorder (SUD) in the United States, compounded by geographic isolation, workforce shortages, and limited access to care. CNBH addressed these barriers by deploying digital recovery tools across its clinics, hospital, and residential treatment facilities - extending free, 24/7 access to peer support, crisis intervention, and cognitive behavioral therapy resources, and integrating local services like maternal health, child welfare, and domestic violence support to keep care culturally relevant and community-based. They will showcase results including the impact on engagement, reducing wait times, and the expansion of support for individuals awaiting care.
Two Communities, One Pattern
Though their populations and challenges differ sharply, West Virginia and Choctaw Nation arrived at a similar conclusion: to effectively tackle the SUD crisis and achieve sustained, improved outcomes, the approach must consider not just treatment capacity, but how to provide consistent recovery support for the moments that happen outside a scheduled session, including after an appointment ends, in the middle of the night, and in the day-to-day of a life still being rebuilt.
Both faced the same underlying barriers: geographic distance, the isolation that SUD itself can create regardless of setting, culturally disconnected care, and a healthcare system too overburdened to take on more work. And both recognized that lasting recovery meant engaging not just individuals, but their families, connecting them not only to 24/7 digital support but to the providers and services already present in their own communities.
They both turned to CHESS Health's evidence-based, peer-backed Connections recovery support app and family-centered Companion app to make that possible at scale, embedding support directly into the clinics, courts, and care systems people were already part of.
"These two very different communities arrived at the same conclusion - that recovery support has to meet people where they are, and technology helps make that possible at scale," said Hans Morefield, CEO of CHESS Health. "We're proud to support organizations doing this work, and we're excited to see them selected to share their approach and outcomes on a national stage."
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About CHESS Health
CHESS Health provides evidence-based digital solutions that support individuals in recovery from substance use disorder. Serving public sector agencies, treatment providers, and health plans, CHESS Health's solutions enhance prevention initiatives, facilitate care coordination, and deliver wraparound recovery support, including 24/7 peer support and clinically informed tools that boost care plan adherence and treatment retention, resulting in improved clinical and business outcomes. For more information, visit www.chess.health.
Meg Miller CHESS Health 4144699702 mmiller@chess.health
