Good morning!

In March of this year, forty experts participated in a consensus-building discussion on a standard of care opioid overdose response protocol at the Compassionate Overdose Response Summit in Pittsburgh, PA (the largest city in Appalachia!), and the final report with event summary is now available.

A critical message emerged from the event:

Those responding to an overdose should aim to restore breathing without causing withdrawal by giving rescue breaths, using standard doses of naloxone (0.4 mg intramuscular injection and <4 mg intranasal spray) until spontaneous breathing is restored, and creating a calm environment.

Additionally, research shared from four states (Missouri, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York) made clear that despite fluctuations in the drug supply, standard dose naloxone is effective; an increase in naloxone dose is not a necessary response to the presence of fentanyl in the drug supply. In fact, negative reactions following naloxone administration may be avoided, and anger can potentially be managed, via low-dose naloxone titration and a calm, compassionate, and considerate communication style between the person who overdosed, the person who administered an opioid antagonist, and bystanders, including EMS.

The findings shared at the Summit are timely given the increasing availability of high-dose and long-acting overdose reversal products in the US, which can have life-threatening side-effects – people who experience intense withdrawal may use more opioids to try to feel better and may be discouraged to seek help in the future.

The trend toward higher dose and longer-acting overdose reversal drugs has long drawn concern from pharmacists, emergency medical services, toxicologists, harm reductionists and people who experience overdose. And now decision makers tasked with spending opioid settlement funds must consider how to invest their dollars into programs and products that are most effective and likely to promote positive outcomes. This report clearly outlines that best-practice overdose response includes investment into standard-dose naloxone and the tools and training needed to provide rescue breathing and create a calm environment in the event of an overdose.

Read the full report here.

One of the approved uses for opioid settlement funds is investment into epidemiological surveillance and data collection. Data dashboards are powerful tools that can support community engagement and decision-making by providing public health surveillance and early detection of emerging health threats, as well as facilitating efficient allocation of resources (like, say, settlement funds).

Join Addiction Policy Forum and speakers from the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) on May 9 at 2pm EST for a webinar which will provide a step-by-step walkthrough of the undertakings to develop the HCS dashboards, including the process of accessing, displaying, and explaining data; co-designing dashboards with state and local partners; implementing and using dashboards in the community; and best practices for using and sustaining them. They will also share publicly available tools that communities can use to develop their own dashboards, as well as a set of standardized measures used by HCS for data collection. Register here.

Alabama

Clarke County voted to appropriate $5,000 in settlement funds to the Clarke County Drug Education Council for education and prevention programs.

Georgia

Cobb County voted to create a council to advise on how to best spend the county’s opioid settlement funds. The Cobb County Opioid Abatement Advisory Council will be made up of local leaders and health experts appointed by various elected officials. 

North Carolina

News reports that Buncombe County has used settlement funds to support 7 paramedics who respond to drug overdoses and conduct mental health crisis outreach in the streets and at the detention center.

News reports that Caldwell County R.E.S.T.A.R.T is funded through opioid settlement dollars. The multidisciplinary team consisting of community paramedics, peer support specialists, a case manager social worker, and a K-9 assistance dog and they work to offer housing, free medical testing, and provide access to peer support and other specialists to people struggling with addiction and their families.

Forsyth County is planning to use $3 million of settlement funds to purchase medications for opioid use disorder as well as for harm reduction services, treatment programs and opioid overdose reversal drugs, amongst other things. County commissioners must still approve the plan at their May 4 meeting. If it is approved, the funds could be distributed as early as July.

Person County voted to utilize $707,517 to fund two fiscal years’ worth of two programs – a new post-overdose response team (PORT) and an early-intervention program in county schools. These were the recommendations given by a 13-member committee the commissioners formed in 2022. The PORT will consist of two paramedics tasked with responding to non-fatal overdoses and connecting survivors with recovery support, addiction treatment, primary healthcare, and other services. The early intervention school program will allow school staff to provide youth mental health first aid and peer-based programs.

Ohio

The City of Green council amended a contract with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office to purchase 14 flock cameras and they will use $20,000 of Summit County opioid settlement funds to help offset costs. Flock cameras take images of license plates and the rear of vehicles entering and leaving the city and alert law enforcement if a plate matches a suspect in a crime, has outstanding warrants or is part of an AMBER Alert. Additionally, the City will be applying for $155,000 from OneOhio Recovery Foundation to fund a contractual employee as a member of the Fire Department’s Quick Response Team for a three-year period, and a vehicle for the employee.

The City of Medina is allocating $26,583 of settlement funds to support Hope Recovery Community’s Hope on the Move transportation program. The funds will allow the organization to provide more than 500 rides for recovery services.

Montgomery County is using nearly $2 million of settlement funds to launch a behavioral health portal to help health care providers better coordinate care for people coming into emergency departments and other spaces for behavioral health needs. 

Virginia

Fauquier County is using settlement funds to launch a drug court program. The county is one of the only in northern Virginia that doesn’t already have such a program. The program will not start immediately. Even after approval from the county board of supervisors, the drug court program needs to be approved by the Virginia Supreme Court before it could start which could take nine months to a year.

West Virginia

The City of Beckley is considering using $2 million of settlement funds to support a 5-year lease with Fruits of Labor, a culinary training program for people in recovery. The City has owned the property since 2021 and Fruits of Labor has operated a restaurant, coffee shop, and pizzeria since 2022. The city had held off finalizing a lease with the organization until now because they wanted to use settlement funds for this purpose. Council members also discussed potentially using funds to support two faith-based residential recovery programs, the city’s newly reestablished DARE program, or other social service agencies.

Region 4 will hold elections on May 9 to choose their new representative for the West Virginia First Foundation board. This position was left vacant when the previous representative, Jonathan Board, was named the Foundation’s executive director.

Alabama

Oversight Commission on Settlement Funds

• TBD
• In-person in Montgomery, AL
• Can watch live on their website (choose ‘Room 200’ for location then ‘Oversight Commission on Alabama Opioid Settlement Funds’ for meeting)

You can also watch livestreams and recordings on The Alabama Channel (thanks to the League of Women Voters of Alabama Education Fund)

Kentucky

Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (meeting info here)

• Business Meeting: May 14, 2:00pm (?)
• In-person located in Frankfort, KY and attendees can give public comment
• Can watch live and recordings on their YouTube channel
• Prevention/Reform/Compliance Subcommittee Meeting: TBD
• In-person located in Frankfort, KY
• Treatment & Recovery Subcommittee meeting: May 7, 10:00am (?)
• In-person located in Frankfort, KY

Maryland

Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council (meeting info here)

• May 30, 10:00am – 11:00am EST
• Meetings are all-virtual. Can watch live via Google Meet & there is usually an opportunity for public comment

New York

Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board (meeting info here)

• May 17, 10:30am – 4pm EST
• In-person located in Albany and attendees can give public comment
• Can watch live and recordings on their website

Monthly ‘Community’ meeting: 4th Wednesday of the month at 12pm

• See this page under ‘Community Input’

Ohio

OneOhio Recovery Foundation Board (meeting info here)

• Full Board Meeting: May 8, 10:30am EST
• In-person meetings are located in Columbus and are open to the public, but there is usually no opportunity for public comment
• Can watch live and recordings on their website
• Executive Committee: May 22, 9:00am EST
• Grant Oversight Committee: May 8, 9:30am EST
• Expert Panel: May 2, 2pm EST
• Personnel Committee: May 2, 3pm EST

Regional Information Sessions (see events calendar for most up-to-date info)

• TBD

Pennsylvania

Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (meeting info here)

• Board of Trustees Meeting: May 2, 9:15am – 2:15pm EST <–Note time change
• In-person located in Harrisburg
• All virtual and can watch live via Zoom and recordings on YouTube

 South Carolina

Opioid Recovery Fund

• SCORF Board Meeting: June 19 time and location TBD (info here)
• Coffee Chat: May 3, 9:30am EST, virtual
• This is held the first Friday of the month and is an opportunity to ask questions and hear announcements about opioid settlement funds

 Tennessee

Opioid Abatement Council

• Meeting: June 18, 9:00am – 11:00am CST (info here)
• In-person located in Memphis, TN. (Location rotates around the state.) Meetings are also available to watch via Teams – All attendees are able to give public comment
• Recordings and meeting minutes are available on their website

Virginia

Opioid Abatement Authority (meeting info here)

• Grants Committee: May 23, 3-5pm EST
• Finance Committee: May 23, 2-3pm EST <– note change in date
• Board Meeting: June 14, 3-5pm EST

West Virginia

West Virginia First Foundation, Inc. (meeting info here)

• Board of Directors meeting: May 2, 2:00pm EST