Alanna Boulton, MSHS, PMP

Alanna Boulton, MSHA, MHA, PMP, directs the operations of the Substance Use Treatment and Resources for Texas (START) Program, which aims to develop comprehensive hospital-initiated clinical services for people with substance use disorders in Central Texas, with a focus on underserved populations. START’s objectives are to increase access to clinical services, promote community and capacity building, and reimagine the way that substance use treatment is included in medical education. Additionally, Boulton provides project management and health systems science and quality improvement mentorship and guidance to medical students and residents completing quality improvement or distinction track projects.

Boulton oversees numerous grant-funded projects within the START program — including Support Hospital Opioid Use Disorder Treatment (SHOUT) Texas, a Texas Health and Human Services-funded multiyear project seeking to increase access to opioid use disorder treatment in hospitals by disseminating the novel and award-winning B-Team model to hospitals across Texas; a CPRIT-funded three-year project to implement and increase screening for unhealthy alcohol and tobacco use in the hospital setting; a Texas Health and Human Services-funded multiyear project to implement substance use navigators in the hospital setting; and the Reducing Stigma Educational Tools (ReSET), a robust and interactive online learning environment supported by a grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges to reimagine the way that health care trainees and practicing professionals learn about the opioid crisis.

Boulton has extensive experience in health care service delivery systems and coverage programs for the indigent and underserved patient populations and is currently serving on the Travis County Substance Use Planning Workgroup. Boulton received a Master of Science in health sciences and a Master of Healthcare Administration from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and is certified by the Project Management Institute as a project management professional.