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Spokane speakers urge coordinated action on fentanyl at Gabriel’s Challenge closing
Summary
At a closing event in Spokane Council Chambers, city leaders, health officials, a municipal judge, treatment providers and people with lived experience outlined local resources, harm-reduction efforts and calls for a shared, sustained response to fentanyl overdoses.
Council President Betsy Wilkerson closed Gabriel’s Challenge, a multiweek community series on fentanyl, at Spokane Council Chambers, saying, “This is not the end,” and urging participants to share what they learned with neighbors and continue working together.
The meeting brought presentations from Coordinated Care (a Washington Medicaid health plan), Spokane Regional Health District, municipal court, treatment providers and people with lived experience. Speakers described harm-reduction distribution, treatment capacity, data tools and criminal-justice diversion programs and called for a formal summit and sustained collaboration.
Beth Johnson, chief executive officer of Coordinated Care, said the organization serves members statewide and is committed to local work. Katie Ramos, a licensed mental health clinician and behavioral health contracting manager with Coordinated Care, described the plan’s “no referral” approach for outpatient behavioral health and highlighted specialized programs, including a proactive 0 Overdose program and Start Smart for Your Baby prenatal/postpartum services. “Recovery isn’t…
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