Latest news with #OpioidSettlement
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Millions in opioid settlement funding allocated by Albuquerque City Council
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque City Councilors made a decision at Monday's city council meeting on how they will spend the millions of dollars awarded to the city from a settlement with major opioid companies. It comes from drug manufacturers and distributors, settling lawsuits for their role in the opioid epidemic. Story continues below The more than $4.5 million will be used to expand the city's services for residents going through substance abuse disorders. The funds will support the first responder receiving area, a medical sobering center and micro-community recovery housing. In addition, the city will provide recovery housing options to people transitioning from incarceration. Following the passage of the legislation Mayor Tim Keller released a statement that reads in part, 'Our city has done the real work to build a continuum of care for folks experiencing addiction and homelessness.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Commission creates task force to oversee opioid settlement funds
princeton – Creating an application process and a task force to make sure that opioid settlement money is spent effectively to combat local drug addiction and the problems it fuels is the aim of a resolution passed Tuesday by the Mercer County Commission. Mercer County currently has almost $2.6 million from the settlements the manufacturers of opioid pain medications paid out after their products led to widespread drug abuse and overdose deaths across West Virginia. This sum does not include $300,000 being used to turn the former professional building next door to the Mercer County Courthouse into a new headquarters for the sheriff's department and $130,000 to the Mercer County Health Department to help recruit more physicians. The current plan is to leave $1.5 million in the county's opioid settlement fund so it can earn interest and keep providing money for projects addressing addiction, said Commissioner Greg Puckett. 'The state of West Virginia has endured significant harm due to the avarice and wrongdoing of the pharmaceutical industry, resulting in one of the highest overdose death rates in the country,' Puckett said as he read the resolution Investment of Opioid Settlement Funds into the official record. 'Placing too much of the burden on law enforcement and the criminal legal system to solve the opioid epidemic has not had a demonstrable impact on the problem.' The opportunity to invest over $1 billion from opioid settlements presents a unique opportunity to chart a new course for West Virginia, focusing on evidence-based strategies that prioritize saving lives, healing communities and addressing racial disparities, Puckett read from the resolution. Under the resolution, the plan is to create a five-member committee called the Mercer County, WV Opioid Settlement Task Force to review, oversee and recommend the allocation and dispensing of opioid settlement funds. The task force will include people such as health care professionals, addiction specialists, and community leaders, law enforcement, social service agencies and individuals with direct lived experience or experience and understanding of the opioid crisis, according to the resolution. The task force's decisions will be evidence-based research for reducing overdose fatalities, infectious disease and other outcomes of the opioid crisis. Eighty percent of the funds should be spent on non-punitive measures, according to the resolution. This new task force will also 'engage in a transparent and inclusive process to solicit proposals from community organizations, nonprofits and other entities to receive money for programs and projects aimed at preventing opioid abuse, provide treatment and recovery support, support efforts to reduce harm and address the social issues determining addiction, according to the resolution. The task force will report regularly to the county commission. Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
Chicago Tribune
12-03-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Porter County commissioners dole out latest round of opioid settlement funds to nonprofits
Five Porter County entities will receive a portion of this year's $125,000 in Opioid Settlement money. The county's Opioid Settlement Funds Committee began taking applications for the awards in January and made its recommendations to the Porter County Board of Commissioners at its meeting Tuesday morning. Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center, explained it was agreed five recipients would be selected so as not to create an undue burden in the process. Duneland Schools will receive $10,000 for student education and prevention, as well as developing a diversion program for students who have been affected by the crisis. Moraine House, Portage Recovery Association, and Three20 Recovery will each receive $25,000. Moraine House will use the money for house repairs and remodeling. Three20 Recovery will use the money for music, art, fitness, nutrition and faith initiatives to 'continue to try to remove barriers and meet people where they're at,' said executive director Allen Grecula. Similarly, the Portage Recovery Association will use the money to flesh out a variety of all-inclusive services at its new facility. 'To give them all of these tools to go forward is beyond amazing,' said director Jake Monhaut. The Caring Place will receive $40,000 to aid its women's recovery program. Porter County will receive approximately $336,000 per year between 2022 and 2038. The county sets aside $200,000 of that to pay the salaries and benefits of the two social workers at the Porter County Sheriff's Department. After the five annual awards, a small balance remains in reserve. The state's opioid settlement and litigation page on states that at the height of the opioid crisis in 2012, 112 opioid prescriptions were being written for every 100 Hoosiers. In other business, the commissioners gave General Insurance Services permission for its advisory panel to explore the possibility of the county adopting an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICRA) for the 1,100 to 1,200 employees and dependants that it insures. GIS Employee Benefits Advisor Candace Arvin explained to the commission that there are long lead times for implementation of any changes and now is a good time to simply understand what else is available in terms of employee health insurance. Regnitz said the switch this year to a health savings account-based plan for employees was already a big shift for the county and it should do nothing more than explore at this point. Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, told Arvin, 'You've got to figure out how to get more aggressive with our plan because it's only going to get more expensive.' Regnitz praised GIS for keeping the county's health insurance cost increases below industry averages. 'But they have another gear, Barb,' Biggs insisted.
CBS News
04-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Drop-off box for unwanted medication now available at Redford Township Police station
Residents of Redford Township in Wayne County, Michigan, now have a year-round option for disposing of leftover or expired medication. The Redford Township Police Department announced Tuesday in a press release that it has installed a permanent drug disposal kiosk in the lobby of the police station. This kiosk will be available 24/7 for residents to drop off unwanted prescription and over the counter medication. The police department has long participated in the National Drug Take Back Day campaigns, and the new drop box expands that effort. Funding from the Opioid Settlement money distributed to Redford Township will pay for the box and service. "We know that substance abuse is often intensified or increased because of unused medications in the home. This kiosk will help lessen the opportunities for these medications to get into the wrong hands or be misused," Chief Jennifer Mansfield said in her statement. Supervisor Pat McRae also said he "is thrilled to support this project which is one more example of Redford Township's commitment to protect the community." Items that can be disposed of through the drop box include pills, ointments, vitamins and patches, including pet medications. Medications can be left within their containers or in blister packs; officers ask only that personal identifying information be removed from the packages. The kiosk cannot be used for needles, liquids or inhalers. Once the box inside the kiosk is full, the unwanted medications will be shipped out for destruction in compliance with Drug Enforcement Agency standards. The project is one of the steps that the police department is taking to help reduce substance use disorder. The township police department also works with the Hope Not Handcuffs project to provide immediate assistance to those seeking resources for narcotic rehabilitation and education to the community and the families of those impacted by substance abuse disorder.
