Kane County approves $50,000 grant to fund hospital peer support for opioid response

Kane County Public Health Committee members voted unanimously Jan. 22 to authorize a $50,000 award to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital to fund a peer support position that will connect hospital patients to substance-use treatment and recovery resources.

The move comes as Kane County Health Department staff presented six years of overdose and emergency-department data showing a decline from the 2021 peak but continued fatalities. Michael Isaacson, director of the Kane County Health Department, said the declines are promising but cautioned the county still loses residents to overdoses.

"We are starting to see a decrease," Isaacson said when introducing the county's analysis of emergency-department visits and fatalities. The department showed a fall in all-drug and opioid-related emergency encounters in 2024 compared with earlier years while stressing the work is ongoing.

Liz Aleman, director of planning and information management, gave the committee a substance-specific breakdown for 2023: "For the 66 deaths in 2023, 59 were due to synthetic opioids, so fentanyl," she said. The county's epidemiology team compiles toxicology and vital-record data to identify the underlying cause of death for these statistics.

Committee members heard that the peer support model places a person with lived experience in hospital settings to meet patients after overdoses or during other admissions to offer resources, referrals and encouragement. Public-health staff said Northwestern Medicine will hire the peer as an employee and that Elgin Community College offers peer training and state certification programs that can prepare candidates.

The Health Department described other response elements that accompany the grant: naloxone distribution and training across the county, partnerships with hospitals, fire and police, and ongoing funding from multiple sources. Isaacson noted naloxone used in the county is provided at no cost to the county from a state purchase funded through settlement dollars; the department also reported dozens of community reversals and that trainings have been delivered to schools, agencies and first responders.

Committee roll call on the $50,000 award recorded these votes: Alex Arroyo — yes; Dubey — yes; Ted Panasas — yes; Bill Tarver — yes; David Young — yes; Sheryl Strathman — yes. The motion passed.

Officials described the grant as catalytic: it funds an evidence-based intervention that county staff and hospital leaders say increases the chance a person will enter treatment when they are most reachable. The Health Department and hospital partners said the hospital has committed to maintain the position beyond the grant period.

The committee also heard that the county has received roughly $1.3 million so far in opioid-settlement funds that are managed by an ad hoc panel (department director, committee chair, coroner, state's attorney and sheriff) and that those funds have supported treatment, lab capacity and specialty courts.

The committee did not identify a named mover or seconder in the public record for the motion; the roll-call result stands as the official outcome.

Kane County health staff said they will return with further program updates, including metrics on how the hospital peer position is used and whether it increases referrals into treatment.