Vermont Business Magazine The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be awarding this week more than$12 millionto 23 states and theDistrict of Columbiato support their responses to the opioid overdose epidemic. The funds will be used to strengthen prevention efforts and better track of opioid-related overdoses. CDC expects to announce additional funding awards for state opioid overdose prevention programs later in the summer. Vermont will get $239,060.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) said, "I hope these grants signal Secretary Price’s new appreciation for the importance of these much-needed resources to combat the opioid epidemic, because the Secretary has proposed to slash these same CDC programs by $50 million next year. These grants were made possible with passage of the fiscal year 2017 Appropriations bill in April, and now states like Vermont are receiving funding that will allow for better tracking of heroin and opioid-related deaths and enhance prevention efforts.
“Secretary Price’s and the President’s rhetoric have not yet matched the reality of the administration’s actions. It’s about time that the administration finally joins Congress in taking this epidemic seriously. After they have issued such a glowing release about the importance of these grants being issued this week, I am calling on them to withdraw their proposal to cut this vital program by $50 million next year.”
"The opioid epidemic is a scourge on our nation that knows no bounds," said Health and Human Services SecretaryTom Price, MD. "President Trump and we at HHS are working to support states on the front lines of this national crisis.This new support from CDC, funded by the appropriations bill President Trump signed in May, will help states and local authoritiestrack this epidemic and respond in real time."
Increased funding for opioids in the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Omnibus Appropriations bill is allowing CDC to support all states that have applied for funding through theEnhanced State Surveillance of Opioid-Involved Morbidity and Mortality(ESOOS) program and thePrescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States(PfS) program.
Under the ESOOS program,$7.5 millionwill go to 20 additional states and theDistrict of Columbia to better track and prevent opioid-involved nonfatal and fatal overdoses.
This cooperative agreement already provides funds to 12 states to develop and adapt surveillance systems to address the rising rate of overdoses attributable to opioids, including a specific focus on heroin and synthetic opioids such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl.
States can use the ESOOS funds to:
- More quickly report nonfatal and fatal opioid overdose and risk factors linked to fatal overdoses.
- Share data with key stakeholders working to prevent opioid-involved overdoses.
- Share data with CDC to support improved multi-state surveillance of and response to opioid-involved overdoses.
New ESOOS awardees areAlaska,California,Connecticut,Delaware,District of Columbia, Florida,Georgia,Illinois,Indiana,Louisiana,Maryland,Michigan,Minnesota,Nevada,New Jersey,North Carolina,Tennessee,Utah,Vermont,Virginia, andWashington. Added to the 12 states that received funding last year, this brings the total number of states receiving ESOOS funds to 32 and theDistrict of Columbia.
Under the PfS program,$4.8 millionwill go to an additional eight states.
This supplemental funding will allow states to enhance prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) and implement andevaluate strategies to improve safe opioid prescribingpractices
New PfS supplemental awardees areArizona,Delaware,Illinois,Maryland,Massachusetts,Nevada,North Carolina, andWest Virginia. They join the 14 PfS states that received funding last year.
"More than 90 Americans lose their lives to the opioid overdose epidemic every day, which is devastating to their communities and families," said CDC DirectorBrenda Fitzgerald, M.D. "Supporting state efforts is crucial to stop these tragic losses."
The expanded funding is part of the Department of Health and Human Services' five-point strategy to fight the opioid epidemic by:
- Improving access to prevention, treatment and recovery services, including the full range of medication-assisted treatment;
- Targeting availability and distribution of overdose-reversing drugs;
- Strengthening timely public health data and reporting;
- Supporting cutting-edge research on pain and addiction; and
- Advancing better practices for pain management.
CDC works 24/7protecting America's health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America's most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered inAtlantaand has experts located throughoutthe United Statesand the world.
SOURCE: ATLANTA,July 17, 2017/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)www.cdc.gov