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Catawba County approves $162,266 opioid‑settlement award to CVMC and affirms broader settlement strategy
Summary
The Board appropriated $162,266 from opioid settlement funds to expand weekend Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist coverage and cover medication and appointment costs through Catawba Valley Medical Center's CARE Team, and ratified a set of strategies totaling $1,490,999 for opioid response programs.
The Catawba County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 18 approved an appropriation of $162,266 from the county's Opioid Settlement Fund to support a Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) grant aimed at expanding the hospital CARE Team's weekend coverage and underwriting patient medications and appointment costs.
County Manager Mary S. Furtado, Opioid SUD Program Coordinator Jamie Todd and REACH Crew Chief Jason Powell presented a Healthy Safe Community Strategic Plan update and described gaps the county and CVMC aim to fill. The funding will pay for part‑time weekend Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist coverage ($49,015), medication costs ($74,250) and appointment support ($39,000) to help patients adhere to clinical discharge plans, the presenters said. The county characterized the CARE Team as Catawba Valley Medical Center's internal program to connect patients in crisis and recovery with addiction services and community resources.
Commissioner Barbara G. Beatty moved to approve the appropriation; the motion carried unanimously. The Board also adopted Resolution 2025‑31, a document the county recorded that lists multiple opioid‑response strategies and authorizes expenditures from the Opioid Settlement Fund. The resolution identifies five strategies authorized across prior and current actions, including: Opioid/Substance Use Disorder Program Coordinator ($415,689); Medication Assisted Treatment in Detention Centers ($200,000); a Community Paramedicine/PORT program ($633,044); a Newton‑Conover City Schools School Resilience Pilot ($80,000); and the CVMC Opioid Grant ($162,266). The total appropriated across those strategies is $1,490,999, with the CVMC grant carrying an authorized expenditure period from Aug. 18, 2025, through June 30, 2026, per the resolution.
During discussion, commissioners asked staff for regular updates on overdose trends and EMS response data. Commissioner Robert C. Abernethy, Jr. requested the Board receive periodic data and information updates. The motion approving the $162,266 appropriation passed unanimously.
The appropriation was recorded with county accounting codes and will be spent from the Opioid Settlement special revenue fund as required by the Memoranda of Agreement between the State of North Carolina and local governments on settlement proceeds, the county said. Resolution 2025‑31 also cites MOA procedures that require a budget item or resolution authorizing each expenditure of opioid settlement funds.
