Kansas Ag Connection - Funds Awarded to Four Opioid Misuse Prevention Projects

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Funds Awarded to Four Opioid Misuse Prevention Projects
Kansas Ag Connection - 08/23/2017

Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Secretary Tim Keck announced Tuesday that the agency has selected four proposals to develop and provide opioid misuse prevention, treatment and recovery support services for the purpose of addressing the opioid abuse crisis within the state of Kansas.

The four proposals awarded grant funding for these projects are:

- University of Kansas Health System, awarded $657,097

- Central Kansas Foundation, awarded $990,206

- Heartland RADAC, awarded $324,201

- Four County Mental Health Center, awarded $657,097

In April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded KDADS $3,114,402 for the first year of a two-year grant for the prevention and treatment of opioid abuse in Kansas.

"Opioid addiction is becoming of increasing concern in our state," KDADS Secretary Keck said. "Kansas is the 16th highest opioid-prescribing state in the nation, an indicator of this growing epidemic. These grants will allow us to get ahead of the curve and address this critical public health issue before it worsens."

The grants are awarded for the period from August, 2017 through April, 2018. Awardees will create plans to address risk factors specific to their geographic and demographic areas and cultural communities.

Awardees are expected to develop plans that will:

- Reduce the number of persons with Opioid Use Disorders (OUD) and the number of opioid overdose-related deaths through the provision of primary and secondary prevention, treatment and recovery activities;

- Supplement, not supplant, other Federal or State funding for prevention, treatment and recovery activities;

- Participate in the statewide media campaign for primary prevention; and,

- Participate in the development of a comprehensive state strategic plan to address the gaps in prevention, treatment and recovery.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reports that, between 2013 and 2015, Kansas' prescription opioid overdose death rate increased by 28 percent and heroin deaths increased by 71 percent.

Increases in opioid-related drug misuse and deaths parallel the increase in prescription opioid availability. According to data from the Kansas prescription drug monitoring program, the Kansas Tracking and Reporting of Controlled Substances (KTRACS), there were more than 4.2 million Schedule II-IV prescriptions and more than 256 million pills dispensed in Kansas in 2014. Furthermore, more than 100,000 Kansas patients had overlapping prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines and more than 75,000 patients had more than 90 morphine milligram equivalent per day of opioid prescriptions in 2014.

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