Scott County officials describe early success of NET device opioid treatments in county jail, discuss follow-up and funding

Scott County detention staff and a visiting program representative updated the Scott County Fiscal Court on a county-funded effort to use a wearable neuromodulation device (referred to in meeting materials as the NET device) to ease opioid withdrawal among people incarcerated at the county jail.

The county-sponsored pilot has provided 34 NET-device treatments, and 28 of those treatments are either completed or in progress, the program representative said. Detention staff said 18 people started on the device at the jail; of those, seven entered rehab after treatment, three removed the device themselves, five remain in a short-term treatment placement, and the remainder had been released or transferred. Court members praised early results but asked for continued follow-up and documentation.

Why it matters: The court used opioid-settlement money to sponsor the initial treatments. Officials framed the NET device as a way to reduce the acute physical withdrawal that often prevents people from engaging in post-release treatment; court members and jail staff said pairing the device with timely referrals to residential or outpatient rehab increases the chance of longer-term recovery.

Detention staff member Jell O'Bruill described operations at the jail and the NET-device rollout, saying the camera expansion project at the facility is…