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Lorain County Health District outlines 0.5-mill levy, cites 55% local overdose decline tied to Narcan outreach
Summary
A Lorain County Health District representative told commissioners the proposed 0.5-mill renewal funds core public-health work — including Narcan door-to-door outreach the presenter linked to a 55% local drop in overdoses — and described programs from school nursing to tick surveillance.
A representative of the Lorain County Health District asked the county commissioners on June 5 to support a proposed 0.5-mill levy renewal to fund core public-health services.
The presenter said the department’s revenue mix is roughly one-third levy funding, about 31% grants and 29% fees. The request is for the same 0.5-mill levy the voters approved a decade ago, which the presenter said costs about $10.50 per $100,000 of assessed value — “less than a dollar a month” for most homeowners.
Why it matters: the health district connected levy support to direct services many residents use. The presenter highlighted a Narcan “walk” program in which staff and volunteers canvass a four-block radius after each overdose, speaking with residents and distributing naloxone. The presenter said Lorain County recorded a roughly 55% reduction in overdoses last year, a decline they said the county’s door-to-door outreach helped produce, compared with a statewide drop of about 17%.
The representative also described other programs funded in part by levy dollars and grants: healthy-places grants supporting sidewalks, playgrounds and trails; school nursing and home-visiting nurses intended to reduce infant mortality; a low-cost prescription program that has saved residents more than $500,000; tick surveillance and public education; and neighborhood cleanups and hoarding-response training conducted since 2023.
Commissioners and staff confirmed the district will return for a follow-up presentation with formal levy language; staff flagged a June 16 agenda slot to continue the discussion. The health-district representative noted a recent state grant for home-visiting nurses and said the department remains a permanent breast-milk collection site for NICU donations.
What’s next: the health district will present formal levy wording at a future meeting and the commissioners will consider placing the renewal on a ballot or otherwise advancing it according to county procedures.
