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HEART Initiative seeks to sustain overdose-response trainings; Extension adds evidence-based strength program for older adults
Summary
Gabby Mirza of the HEART Initiative updated the commission on ongoing opioid-overdose response trainings after a seed grant ended, and described a Tufts-derived strength-training program for older adults that Extension is implementing across seven Utah counties; Mirza highlighted treatment-capture as the key outcome of overdose reversal.
Gabby Mirza, who works with the HEART Initiative under USU Extension, told commissioners the program continues to deliver opioid overdose-response trainings in Utah County despite the expiration of a seed grant at the end of December 2024.
"We want to connect people to treatment," Mirza said, explaining that naloxone administration and immediate response can open opportunities to engage survivors with treatment and improve recovery outcomes.
Mirza said the initiative provided trainings to organizations including the Utah Transit Authority, Mountainland Technical College and other local groups. She described the seed grant as having enabled the development and dissemination of training materials; while the initial grant funding has ended, trainings still occur on request.
Mirza also described an injury-prevention program focused on muscle-strength training adapted from Tufts University research and implemented in seven Utah counties. She said the three-month program brings participants (average age in the 60s) together twice weekly for sessions that improve balance, flexibility and confidence, and that reducing falls can avoid hospital costs that Mirza estimated around $30,000 per incident when follow-up care is included.
On nutrition programming, staff reported that Utah's SNAP-Ed program, Create Better Health, faced state funding cuts but a private donor provided roughly $300,000 to continue programming in Utah and Cache counties; new educators are delivering classes in English and Spanish.
Mirza asked commissioners to note the public-health value of trainings that both reduce overdose fatalities and help link people to treatment and other services.
