Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
The Chickasaw Nation's Tribal Opioid Response Application - The Chickasaw Nation (CN) Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) project prioritizes providing the full continuum of care for individuals struggling with opioid use disorder (OUD) and other substance use disorders (SUD). The CN provides participants access to innovative medication assisted treatment (MAT), residential treatment and sober living support, while investing in CN workforce to offer effective, evidence-based services. The CN is a federally recognized First American tribe located in rural Oklahoma (OK) whose 7,648 square miles of treaty territory includes 13 contiguous counties. The Indian Health Service (IHS) 2023 Ada Service Unit (SU) population was 51,117. There are 45,000 Chickasaw citizens residing in OK. An additional 5,011 First American active users reside in OK County. The target population of the CN’s TOR grant proposal are First American adults 18 years and older who are diagnosed with OUD, stimulant misuse or other SUDs putting them at a high risk of opioid misuse and overdose. In 2022, 1,217 Oklahomans died due to a drug overdose; of those deaths, 60 percent were related to fentanyl/opioids, and 66 percent involved at least one stimulant. Unintentional drug overdose deaths increased 112 percent from 2019 to 2022. OK ranks 37th in the United States (U.S.) for opioid overdose deaths. OK had the 7th highest opioid prescription dispensing rate in the U.S. Over 3 million opioid prescriptions were filled in OK in 2022. OK had the second largest overdose increase nationwide, at 22 percent. The number of methamphetamine overdose deaths have more than doubled from 2018 to 2022, while fentanyl overdose deaths increased 12-fold from 2019 to 2022. In 2022 the most commonly trafficked drugs in the state were methamphetamine and fentanyl. According to the OK Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs OK Drug Threat Assessment in 2023, fentanyl is the greatest drug threat to OK. In the 13 counties that make up the CN’s treaty territory, from 2021 to 2022, First American people experienced the largest percent increase in the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths, with the rate increasing from 56.6 to 65.2. In the CN, between 2018 and 2022, there were 333 drug overdose deaths; 33 percent of those were caused by opioids. In 2022, approximately 311,156 opioid prescriptions were filled in the 13 counties of the CN. Five of the 13 CN counties – Love, Carter, Pontotoc, Stephens and Bryan – saw higher than average opioid prescription administration, at 55.5 per 100. Of the CN’s 13 counties, 11 listed substance misuse/abuse as the number one health concern in their county. To alleviate the threat OUDs and other SUDs pose in its communities, the CN plans to use TOR funds to achieve the following each year: offer MAT to 30 First Americans per year, totaling 150 for the project period; provide residential treatment scholarships for 25 First Americans per year, totaling 125 for the project period; provide sober living scholarships for 35 First Americans per year, totaling 175 for the project period; and distribute 1,500 medication safety devices, 1,800 home drug disposal systems, 2,000 Naloxone kits and 500 harm reduction kits to community members per year. Project staff will provide education and training on the identification of possible overdose and the administration of naloxone to special populations, including five schools or youth-serving organizations, and 10 trainings provided to 50 CN employees per year, totaling 250 for the project period. Additionally, project staff will do the following: attend 10 outreach events to educate on harm reduction/prevention messaging; offer training support for 10 clinicians providing education in the latest evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment for OUDs and other SUDs each year; and train three pharmacists on MAT protocols each year.
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).