PROVIDENCE – A second round of $2.1 million in federal funds has been awarded to the R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals to stem the opioid epidemic, the R.I. delegation announced Tuesday.
The funds are part of the second round of $485 million in grants from the 21st Century Cures Act authorized in 2016. Rhode Island also received $2.1 million in the first round of funding. The grants are administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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“In a small, tight-knit state like Rhode Island, each of the more than 300 lives we lost last year to accidental overdoses sent ripples of grief through our communities,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., in a statement. “There are glimmers of hope that suggest we’re beginning to turn the tide on this epidemic, and this funding will be put to good use building on the hard-fought progress we’ve made preventing addiction and helping those on the long, noble path of recovery.”
The first round of funding allowed BHDDH to boost prevention efforts, expand medication-assisted treatment, increase fentanyl testing and purchase more than 1,300 doses of Naloxone.
“We are very pleased to receive the second year of funding for our Opioid State Targeted Response grant from SAMHSA,” said BHDDH Director Rebecca Boss in a statement. “This will allow us to expand important programs and initiatives that have proven successful during the first year of funding.”
According to the R.I. Department of Health, there were 323 accidental drug-overdose deaths in the state last year, down from 336 in 2016.
“We have plans to continue integrating medication-assisted treatment in health care settings across the state, expand our Safe Stations program, continue funding our seven Regional Prevention Coalitions as well as continuing other initiatives from year one of funding,” added Boss.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
