Q&A
Update on opioid settlement money and overdose prevention efforts
0:41:35
·
77 sec
Council Member Schulman requests an update on the status of the opioid settlement money. Dr. Morse provides a brief overview of DOHMH's efforts in overdose prevention and the use of settlement funds.
- Significant release in September describing areas of investment for opioid settlement dollars
- Distribution of over 220,000 naloxone kits in the first three quarters of 2024
- Focus on high-impact public health programs, including the relay program, increasing access to medically assisted treatment, and syringe exchange programs
Lynn Schulman
0:41:35
Okay.
0:41:36
No.
0:41:36
I appreciate that.
0:41:36
And I also wanted to ask you, I know you mentioned the opioid, deaths in Fentanyl.
0:41:43
Can you give us an update on the status of the opioid settlement money?
0:41:46
Because that seems to be a little bit nebulous.
Michelle Morse
0:41:51
We would be happy to do that in follow-up, Chair Shulman.
0:41:53
We, also acknowledge that there was a a pretty significant release in September that really described all of the different areas of investment for the opioid settlement dollars, and the health department has been really, you know, again excited to partner with the city and the state around getting those dollars to, impact the the areas, the neighborhoods, the populations, that need to be prioritized to, reduce the rates of overdose.
0:42:20
I'll also mention that just in the first three quarters of 2024, the health department has distributed over 220,000 naloxone kits, which is much, much larger, than last year.
0:42:33
And there are other areas of focus for us, including the relay program, increasing access to medical medically assisted treatment, and many other programs including syringe exchange that really, are what we would consider extremely high impact public health programs to address the overdose epidemic.
