{"id":37329,"date":"2022-09-22T09:35:14","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T13:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=37329"},"modified":"2022-09-22T09:35:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T13:35:18","slug":"chester-county-drug-alcohol-services-outlines-opioid-settlement-implementation-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=37329","title":{"rendered":"Chester County Drug &#038; Alcohol Services outlines opioid settlement implementation plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-16828\" src=\"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/ChesterCountyLogo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"303\" height=\"300\" \/>As the Chester County Commissioners recognize National Recovery Month throughout September, the County is also preparing to receive the first two payments in a $19.7 million 18-year opioid settlement agreement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In anticipation of those payments, Vince Brown, Executive Director of the Chester County Department of Drug &amp; Alcohol Services outlined his department\u2019s long-term strategy at today\u2019s Commissioners\u2019 Meeting, to implement plans for the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder, using the opioid settlement funds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chester County\u2019s portion of the nationwide settlement will be disbursed over 18 years with the first two payments coming in 2022. The remaining payments will be received annually through 2039.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The presentation made at the Commissioners\u2019 Meeting provided an overview of the allocation process and a draft strategy that outlines different tactics for using the opioid settlement funds, including treatment, prevention, abatement, and research.\u00a0 As Vince Brown explained, \u201cThe opioid epidemic has had a significant impact across the county, and on individuals, families, and communities.\u00a0 These funds will help maintain and enhance established programs and activities, and address gaps in services and other identified needs.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chester County Commissioners\u2019 Chair Marian Moskowitz said, \u201cToday\u2019s presentation lays the groundwork for the County\u2019s multi-pronged approach to addressing the opioid epidemic that has led to death and devastation for families across our region.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor the sake of all in our county who have lost their lives, or are still battling substance use disorder, we vow to use these funds to help us continue \u2013 and expand \u2013 services and supports, addressing the current crisis while implementing important mitigation and prevention strategies for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The draft strategy includes approaches to maximize the settlement funds, while reaching the county\u2019s diverse population through a set of programs, supports, and services intended to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treat opioid use disorder<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support people in treatment and recovery<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connect people who need help to appropriate services<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Address the needs of individuals involved within the criminal justice system<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Address the needs of pregnant or parenting women and babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prevent misuse of opioids<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prevent overdose deaths and other harms<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Safely manage medication<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collaborate with local emergency service providers and county or community-based organizations<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide training opportunities and encourage workforce development strategies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis crisis knows no bounds, but with the funds from the opioid lawsuit we can provide even greater opportunities for substance use intervention, treatment, and recovery services \u2013 made possible by developing a plan that responds to our community needs,\u201d said County Commissioner Josh Maxwell.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cVince Brown and his team have worked with our Overdose Prevention Task Force and other stakeholders to develop the different strategies that will effectively use the opioid settlement funds, and we thank them for their diligence, dedication and desire to fight this epidemic with every weapon they can,\u201d added Commissioner Maxwell.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The money Chester County will receive is part of Pennsylvania\u2019s $1 billion settlement, which is part of a national $26 billion agreement to resolve about 4,000 lawsuits against Johnson &amp; Johnson and three pharmaceutical distributors. Seventy percent of the funds will go to local governments, 15% to a Commonwealth account and 15% to other litigating governmental entities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis epidemic has left an indelible mark on individuals and families in our county, and no amount of money compensates for the loss of life caused by opioid addiction\u201d said Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhile we are already working hard to combat the opioid epidemic in many ways, we can use the settlement funds to significantly reduce the devastation.\u00a0 The Opioid Settlement Strategy will drive our long-term approach to providing access to treatment services, supporting people in treatment and recovery, connecting people who need help to appropriate services, and increasing awareness, education, and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through the effective actions of the Chester County Overdose Prevention Task Force, the County can claim one of the most comprehensive anti-opioid initiatives in the state.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two initiatives to emerge from the task force\u2019s efforts are the County\u2019s COPE program, a 24\/7 warm handoff service that helps individuals who have suffered an overdose transition from the emergency room to treatment; and the Chester County Color 5K, an annual that event raises awareness of the crisis and has contributed more than $200,000 towards the COPE program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Chester County Commissioners recognize National Recovery Month throughout September, the County is also preparing to receive the first two payments in a $19.7 million 18-year opioid settlement agreement. In anticipation of those payments, Vince Brown, Executive Director of the Chester County Department of Drug &amp; Alcohol Services outlined his department\u2019s long-term strategy at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[138,14100,14101],"class_list":["post-37329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chester-county","tag-chester-county-drug-alcohol-services","tag-opioid-settlement-implementation-plan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37330,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37329\/revisions\/37330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}