Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Opioid Response topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County recounts progress on opioid response: fewer fatalities, settlements funding recovery programs
Summary
Opioid response staff reported a drop in overdose deaths from 60 in 2023 to 50 in 2024, described a suite of settlement‑funded programs (Bear Team, recovery court, MOUD outreach) and said roughly $2.72 million was allocated for FY25‑26 with $2.26 million remaining as of December.
County opioid response staff updated the Board of Commissioners on program outcomes and settlement-funded spending on Tuesday, reporting reductions in certain harms while outlining funding available for continued services.
"We had 370 EMS calls that came in as suspected overdose; 93 of those calls were verified to be overdoses," opioid response coordinator Katie Samuels said, summarizing calendar‑year figures used for planning. She reported 50 overdose deaths in 2024, down from 60 in 2023, and said ED visits tied to overdose were down in 2025 relative to 2024.
Samules said the county allocated $2.72 million for FY25‑26 strategies and had spent $458,000 by December, leaving $2.26 million available. Staff described nine active programs supported by the settlements including the Bear Team (community paramedic and peer‑support outreach aiming for 24/7 coverage), Burke Recovery Corps, High Country Community Health (low‑barrier MOUD outreach and field inductions), Spark (family‑centered treatment and recovery) and a substance‑use intensive outpatient (SAOP) option being stood up by a community provider.
Staff also showed a cash‑flow projection tool that models settlement payments over time and recommended maintaining a minimum reserve while setting aside roughly $400,000–$550,000 for an RFP/grant round for new projects if the reserve is preserved.
What happens next: staff will continue monitoring outcomes, expand reporting dashboards, finalize Bear Team hiring and case‑management tools, and prepare FY2627 priorities tied to cash‑flow projections and county budget timelines.
