SAMHSA to Administer $1.5 Billion for State Opioid Response Grant Program
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announces State Opioid Response funding to provide nearly $1.5 billion to help address the opioid and overdose epidemic. In President Joseph Biden’s State of the Union, such an opioid response to fentanyl abuse and overdoses is one of the pillars of the Unity Agenda. Thus, the State Opioid Response program and the Tribal Opioid Response grant program are an essential part of the National Drug Control Strategy and the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) Overdose Prevention Strategy.
On the front lines, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) believes healthcare organizations are an inherent part of the opioid response. Indeed, to help patients recover from the disease of addiction, TTC fights the good fight daily. With drug overdoses surpassing car accidents as the number one cause of accidental deaths, the stakes are staggeringly high.
Opioid Response = The Full Continuum of Prevention
In a statement about the new opioid response program to help the states fight the epidemic, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra explains, “The State Opioid Response grant program delivers crucial aid to states and territories to help address in the crisis of overdose and death in our nation’s communities. …(The goal is) to ensure the full continuum of prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and long-term recovery supports are in place and accessible to all who need them.”
As a treatment provider, TTC balances prevention efforts with medications for addiction treatment (MAT) services to address the crisis. First, the goal is to prevent young people from experimenting with opioids in the first place. Hence, the opioid response needs to begin with such prevention efforts. Second, by expanding MAT services, people with opioid use disorders find a pathway to long-term recovery. If the opioid efforts do not expand MAT services, many patients who enter treatment will fail to recover.
Moreover, Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), points out, “At this time, less than 1 out of 10 people in the United States who need addiction care get it… this new funding… will expand access to treatment for substance use disorder and prevent overdoses, while we also work to reduce the supply of illicit drugs in our communities and dismantle drug trafficking.”
Plague of Overdose Deaths and the Opioid Response
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid epidemic did not go away. In fact, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 105,000 people died from drug overdoses in the 12 months ending in October 2021. A staggering number, it is the highest ever recorded in 12 months.
To address the overdose crisis, TTC focuses on accessibility to Narcan, the lifesaving overdose-reversal medication. By holding Narcan training for different groups, TTC is an active part of the opioid response. Moreover, TTC also distributes Narcan responsibly in our respective communities.
Overall, TTC supports the State Opioid Response grant. Providing needed capital, it will fund up to $1,439,500,000 to 59 states and territories. However, such funding needs also to support the healthcare organizations on the front lines of this battle. As a nonprofit, Tarzana Treatment Centers depends on funding from grant programs to remain at the forefront of the fight. Indeed, as a leader in prevention and treatment efforts, TTC is an example of the opioid response in practice.