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Sawyer County jail to pursue full-time nurse, seeks to start in-jail medication-assisted treatment using settlement grant
Summary
Jail health staff said Sawyer County secured a Vital Strategies grant to help convert a halftime nursing post to full time so the jail can begin induction for medication-assisted treatment; a national “Building Bridges” grant that would have helped is paused.
Sawyer County jail health staff told the Public Safety Committee that the county has secured a Vital Strategies grant to help pay to convert an existing halftime nursing position to full time so the jail can begin offering medication-assisted treatment (MAT) induction to inmates.
Julia, a jail health staff member, said MAT had been supported only when an incoming inmate already had a prescription filled by the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) clinic, but the jail lacked the ability to perform induction — the process of starting MAT for someone identified in custody as having a substance use disorder. "We were able to continue with medication assisted treatment," Julia said, "but what we have not been able to do was do what we call induction."
The county had been participating in a Building Bridges planning effort to design needs and strategies for starting MAT, including a trip to New Mexico to study models. Julia said the Building Bridges grant is currently paused and could not be relied on. Separately, Sawyer County successfully applied for a Vital Strategies grant intended to help counties spend opioid settlement funds; that award will subsidize the nursing position in the near term.
Julia described the near-term plan as: make the halftime nurse full time using the Vital Strategies match, then continue funding with opioid settlement dollars through 2027. She cautioned the committee that opioid settlement funds will not last indefinitely and the county will need to consider long-term budget options if the program continues beyond settlement-funded years.
Committee members asked clarifying questions; Julia said the planned full-time nurse had been willing to increase hours. She also asked the committee for feedback as staff move from planning into implementation.
Why it matters: MAT induction in custody allows clinicians to start evidence-based treatment promptly, which can reduce withdrawal, decrease overdose risk after release and improve engagement with community treatment. The committee's vote today was informational; no formal budget appropriation was taken at the meeting.
