Mohave County Board of Health hears opioid-settlement grantees on youth prevention and hospital screening program

Mohave County Board of Health members on Jan. 27 heard presentations from three recipients of county opioid-settlement funding on prevention, family navigation and a hospital-based screening, brief intervention and referral-to-treatment program.

The presentations described complementary work aimed at preventing youth substance use, connecting families to services, and identifying patients at risk of substance use disorders when they present at health-care facilities. The board heard from Kelly Tanner of Arizona Youth Partnership; Wendy Gustafson, regional program manager, and Elena Savalta, director of programs, from Not My Kid; and Dr. Anthony Santarelli and Heather Miller from Kingman Regional Medical Center (CareMC), with behavioral-health nurse Antolin Rosales present.

Why it matters: County opioid-settlement funds are intended to expand services that reduce overdoses and link people to treatment. Board members were given early data showing operational changes at the hospital emergency department and community-level prevention activity that county staff said could reduce return emergency visits and overdose deaths.

Arizona Youth Partnership: Kelly Tanner of Arizona Youth Partnership described…