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Montezuma County public-health staff seek commissioners' letter of support for pill-counter grant
Summary
County public-health staff requested a letter of support for a grant to purchase a pill-counting machine intended to reduce opioid diversion; commissioners deferred a decision until the next meeting.
Montezuma County public-health staff asked the Board of County Commissioners to provide a letter of support for a grant application to purchase a pill-counting machine intended to reduce opioid diversion.
The request came from a staff member identified in the meeting as Miss Jabbour, who introduced Kelsey Gilbert, described during the meeting as “our pharmacy director.” “The letter of support that we are requesting is [for the] purchase of a pill counter that will allow for improved drug diversion and dispensing of opioids,” Jabbour said. Gilbert told commissioners the device would improve safety and inventory controls: “This machine takes pictures, which then inventory wise…internal staff couldn't divert and then also helps keep the patient safe because then they're confident in what they got.”
The presenters said the grant is administered through SORD and that the pill counter would help providers ensure controlled medications go to appropriate patients. Gilbert added that the device also increases efficiency for staff.
Commissioners asked how the county tracks multiple opioid prescriptions for the same patient. Gilbert said the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, or PDMP, receives every prescription transmission and can be queried by pharmacies and providers to check patient prescription histories and potential “doctor shopping.” A commissioner raised separate questions about how law enforcement or the coroner account for leftover pill bottles after overdose deaths; meeting speakers discussed examples in which caregivers removed remaining opioids from a home after a death, but no formal procedure or policy was described in the meeting record.
A county official told commissioners the board would make a decision on the requested letter of support at the next meeting. No formal vote or motion was recorded in the transcript for this item.
Background: Meeting presenters framed the request as a harm-reduction and safety measure for county pharmacies and patients. The transcript did not include the exact grant application deadline or the full legal name of the SORD program beyond the acronym provided in the meeting.
