|
Wayne
and
Oakland
Counties
await a
share of
the
State's
$800 Mil
Opioid
Settlement
funds
after
leading
the way
to
combat
Opioid
addiction
DETROIT
- It is
undoubtedly
good
news to
hear of
the
bipartisan
bills
that
passed
the
Senate
today
creating
a
structure
to
distribute
Michigan's
$800
million
share of
the $26
billion
national
opioid
settlement
over the
next
several
years.
As a
result,
Wayne
County
will
receive
an
allocated
$35
million
share of
the
settlement.
This
will
provide
welcome
relief
to
thousands
in our
State,
and it
is a
relief
that may
never
have
materialized
were it
not for
the
extraordinary
cooperative
efforts
exhibited
by the
leadership
of both
Wayne
and
Oakland
Counties
to
attack a
devastating
problem
that is
traumatizing
both
communities
as well
as much
of the
rest of
the
country.
On
October
12,
2017,
Wayne
County
Executive
Warren
C. Evans
and then
Oakland
County
Executive
L.
Brooks
Patterson
announced
their
plan to
join
forces
in a
lawsuit
filed
against
multiple
drug
manufacturers
and
distributors
alleging
the
deceptive
marketing
and sale
of
opioids.
The case
was the
first
such
suit
filed in
Michigan.
We would
certainly
like to
extend
our
sincere
appreciation
to both
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
and
Attorney
General
Dana
Nessel
for all
the
support
they
have
provided
since
that
time in
helping
to make
this
happen.
"This is
a
full-blown
health
crisis
from
which
the drug
companies
made
billions,"
Executive
Evans
said at
the
time.
"People
are
dying,
and
lives
are
being
ruined
by
addiction
as this
horrible
tragedy
unfolds.
We see
the
devastation
every
day in
our
hospitals,
jails,
and
morgue,
and it's
getting
worse.
There
has to
be a
price to
be paid
when
corporations
show
such
disregard
for
human
life."
"The
opioid
industry
has
taken a
page out
of big
tobacco's
playbook,"
added
Executive
Patterson.
"They
utilized
misleading
information,
marketing
campaigns,
and
studies
to
convince
the
public
that
their
product
was
safe.
They put
profits
over
people,
and now
people
are
paying
the
price,
some
with
their
lives."
Since
the
Wayne
County
Commission
approved
the
settlement
on
December
16,
2021,
Wayne
County's
communities
have
been
provided
with a
broad
list of
guideline
parameters
(provided
below)
on
allocating
their
share of
the $35
million
opioid
settlement
funds
approved
for
Wayne
County.
These
parameters
include:
•
Naloxone
(or
other
FDA
approved
drug) –
o
Training
and
education
– Broad
ranges
of
services
(treatment,
recovery
programs,
syringe
services,
infectious
disease
testing,
etc.);
Immunity
/ Good
Samaritan
Laws
o
Increased
availability
and
distribution
to the
community
-
uninsured
or when
not
covered
by
insurance.
o
Includes
Naloxone
Plus
Strategies
– link
individuals
to
treatment
programs
and
other
available
services.
o
Public
Health
entities
provide
free
Naloxone
to
anyone
in the
community
•
Treatment
– Broad
category
covering
Opioid
Use
Disorder
(OUD)
and any
co-occurring
Substance
Use
Disorder
(SUD) /
Mental
Health
(MH)
condition.
o
Full
continuum
of care
and
wrap-around
services
–
housing,
transportation,
education,
job
training/placement,
childcare,
peer
support
services,
counseling,
case
management,
access
to
medications,
residential
treatment,
community-based
services
(legal/social),
telehealth,
and
mobile
intervention
services.
Trauma-related
services
to
individuals
and
surviving
families.
•
Medication-Assisted
Treatment
(MAT)
Programs,
including
expansion
of "warm
hand-off"
programs.
o
Wrap
around
services
–
housing,
transportation,
job
training/placement,
childcare,
co-occurring
recovery
services
(Substance
Use
Disorders
"SUD"/Mental
Health
"MH")
•
Expanded
treatment
and
services
to
Pregnant/Postpartum
Women
and
Neonatal
Abstinence
Syndrome
(NAS).
•
Incarcerated
Population
–
Increased
funding
for
Opioid
Use
Disorder
(OUD).
Treatment
and
support
services
include
MAT for
OUD and
co-occurring
SUD/MH
disorders
during
incarceration
and
afterward.
o
Support
pre-arrest
and
pre-arraignment
diversion
strategies
o
Re-entry
programs
o
Support
treatment
and
recovery
courts
that
provide
evidence-based
options
o
Training
for law
enforcement,
medical
providers
o
Provide
wellness
and
support
services
to first
responders
and
others
for
secondary
trauma
related
to
opioid-related
emergency
events
•
Prevention
Programs:
o
Media
campaigns
to
prevent
opioid
misuse,
provide
education,
drug
disposal,
community
supports
o
Evidence-based
programs
in
schools
o
Medical
Provider
education
and
Training
o
Support
use or
enhancement
of
Prescription
Drug
Monitoring
Programs
(PDMP) –
State
o
Community
disposal
programs
o
Funding
/
Training
First
Responders
–
Pre-arrest
diversion
programs,
overdose
response
teams,
or other
methods
to
connect
at-risk
individuals
to
behavioral
health
services/support.
•
Syringe
Service
Programs
– Access
to
sterile
syringes
and
linkage
to
care/treatment
services.
•
Evidence-based
Data
collection
and
Research
to
analyze
the
effectiveness
of
abatement
strategies.
•
Leadership,
Planning,
and
Coordination
–
o
Statewide,
regional,
local,
or
regional
community
planning
to
identify
root
causes
of
addiction/overdose,
harm
reduction
goals,
high-risk
areas/populations.
o
Dashboard
– share
reports
or
strategy
outcomes,
share
ideas
for
spending
settlement
funds.
o
Invest
in
infrastructure/staffing
at
government
or
not-for-profit
agencies
to
support
collaborative,
cross-system
coordination
efforts
and
oversight/management
of
opioid
abatement
programs.
•
Training
and
Research
– broad
categories.
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