Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program

MCD Global Health and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center have partnered to launch the Northern New England Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program (NNE-TCLP). This program serves providers and communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

The program aims to improve access to care and connections among providers by:

Providing training;
Engaging subject matter experts;
Establishing learning collaboratives; and
Sharing information.

This program addresses topics facing rural health providers serving people with mental health and substance use disorders (SUD), such as:

How to address arthritis pain when someone has SUD;
Which diabetes medications are safe for use in a patient who is also on buprenorphine; and
How to manage the gastrointestinal problems that seem to occur among individuals taking medication for mental health diagnoses and or SUD.

Location

Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont

Partners

Bi-state Primary Care Association (BSPCA); U.S. Health and Human Services (HRSA); Maine Primary Care Association (MPCA); New England Rural Health Association (NERHA); & rural health state offices in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont

Funders

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Duration

2025–Present

Contact

Catherine Sanders
Senior Program Manager
csanders@mcd.org

"At long last, the TCLP award will allow MCD to weave together workforce and telehealth projects in service of an overall better integrated and more effective mental health and substance use health care system in northern New England."

—Catherine Sanders
Senior Program Manager, MCD Global Health

$green outlines\ of person pushing boulder up a hill$

Challenges

Rural communities in northern New England face significant unmet health needs, including:

Adult and youth mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD).
Child and adolescent behavioral health.
Prenatal and maternal health.
Chronic disease prevention and management.
Limited access to specialty care, especially psychiatry, pediatrics, child psychiatry, and obstetric services, etc.

Barriers, such as long travel distances, long waitlists, and provider shortages, create critical gaps in care. NNE-TCLP is designed to close these gaps by equipping providers with technology-enabled education, peer support, and strategies that improve provider retention and the quality of care for patients.

Expected Outcomes

To address unmet rural health needs associated with mental health and SUD, the evaluation will examine:

Access to services for youth and adults with mental health and/or SUD concerns.
Provider education for specific gaps in services in rural areas for adults and youth with behavioral health challenges, such as co-occurring conditions and student mental health.
Build connections among people who provide behavioral health services.
Support the above activities as a behavioral health hub.

Project Activities

Needs Assessment

Top concerns of providers sampled: adolescent substance use disorder (SUD), co-occurring mental health conditions, organizational challenges, medication for opioid use disorder, serious mental illness (SMI), and law enforcement/EMS mental health training.

Primary Activities

Each year, the TCLP offers:

Three Project ECHO® learning collaboratives.
Two rounds of Leading with Lived Experience (LLE).
ECHO and LLE networking and growth through learning collaboratives.

Current Learning Opportunities📅

Cannabis in Clinical Care ECHO: Addressing the Spectrum of Use

Noon–1 p.m. (ET)
Every other Wednesday, February 4–April 15, 2026

News & Updates

New Grant to Expand Reach of MCD’s Behavioral Health Services in U.S. Northeast

This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $474,667 annually with 100% funded by HRSA/ HHS under award number UU7TH54328‐01‐00. 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.