Saturday, May 18, 2024
5/18/2024
The City of Meriden is experiencing an increase each year in the number of residents who lose their lives due to opioid overdose. The City, in working with community partners, recognizes the need to streamline referral mechanisms to increase the chances that persons with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) are able to recover by accessing services. Residents with OUD need a peer connection to help them find and then maintain their recovery; anecdotal evidence exists that persons arriving in the Emergency Department (ED) with opioid overdose are more likely to link to treatment with the help of a peer. To curb the misuse of opioids in our city, Meriden needs to enhance prevention efforts in schools in order to bring home to kids and their parents the dangers that may lurk in their medicine cabinets; further education on the dangers of prescription drug misuse are imperative to the safety of future generations. The Meriden Opioid Referral for Recovery (MORR) project focuses on first responders using Narcan™ to reverse opioid overdose and then making the connection to services for their client by accessing the Rushford Mobile Crisis Unit. Rushford will provide direct access to a clinician who will provide the initial assessment and appropriate referral to treatment. In addition, Rushford will provide clients in the MORR program with a Case Manager who will be a peer trained as a Recovery Support Specialist in order to give persons looking to find their recovery the opportunity to make a connection with someone who has been where they are. Statistics collected by the City of Meriden Public Safety Committee on the use of Narcan™ showed that the drug was administered 140 times in 2016, most frequently in the City of Meriden downtown area. This is a 13% hike from 2015 when the drug was used 124 times. The City theorizes that this may be due to the mix of fentanyl into the heroin being acquired by those with OUD; this additive increases the potency of the drug 100%. The Meriden Fire Department (MFD) added Narcan™ to their units in January of 2016 and administered it 81 times; 80 of those who received the opioid antagonist survived. The City of Meriden has a complete emergency responder system approach to handling emergencies involving persons overdosing from opioids, however, the City has identified disconnects in the circle of care whose resolution would allow persons handling OUD to recover rather than be administered another dose by emergency personnel the next time they experience an overdose. The MORR project will help the city create a replicable model that will streamline processes between first responders who are reversing overdoses to prevent death, and clinical and peer supports that will help persons with OUD to recover. We know that treatment is effective and recovery is real, the City of Meriden is committed to identifying a path that lets residents with OUD reclaim their lives and rejoin our community.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
