Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Overdose Data to Action Funds in Surveillance and Prevention - The drug and opioid overdose crisis in South Carolina (SC) mirrors, and in some instances exceeds, the alarming scale and progression of the epidemic nationwide. In 2017, three out of four of the 1,001 drug overdose deaths in SC were opioid related, and 362 were attributed to fentanyl or fentanyl analogs. In only three years, from 2014 to 2017, SC witnessed a 37.7% increase in total drug overdose deaths and a 47.2% increase in opioid overdose deaths; including a 138.6% increase in heroin overdose deaths, and a shocking 432.2% increase in fentanyl overdose deaths. The increases in opioid-related mortality and morbidity reiterates a comprehensive, cohesive public health approach and stresses the need to building upon work and partnerships already established through the Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response- Opioid Epidemic (CDC-RFA-TP18-1802). Through the Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) funding opportunity, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) will use data collected by the Bureau of Health Improvement and Equity (BHIE) to drive a collaborative preventative opioid effort. Specifically, BHIE will collect and disseminate timely emergency department (ED) data on suspected, all opioid, heroin and all stimulant overdoses, including the quarterly reporting of hospital discharge data, collect and disseminate descriptions of drug overdose death circumstances using death certificate and medical examiner/ coroner data (ME/C) and enhance the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) application, and work on surveillance innovation projects to increase testing of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs at our State Public Health Lab and to support the increased report of death data by coroners. The Division of Injury and Substance Abuse Prevention (DISAP) will work with local health departments to increase client referrals to evidence-based treatment, provide academic detailing to providers, increase opioid-related messaging in our health departments and hire a health educator to obtain/develop, package and distribute opioid prevention materials to schools. Local COPE agencies will be funded in their activities to link Narcan-rescued Opioid Overdose Victims (NOOV) to care as well as provide a motivational interviewing course to facilitate increases in linkage to care. To address a need in vulnerable populations, DISAP will work with the Strengthening Families program and the USC Institute for Families in Society to examine the impact of the opioid epidemic on woman of child bearing age. Academic detailing will be provided through the PRISMA health system, which has acquired hospitals in the Columbia and Greenville metropolitan areas and have rural satellite offices throughout the State. PRISMA health also has plans with work with the Medical University of South Carolina, a large hospital system in Charleston, and plans also to provide messaging to dentists. Educational materials regarding alternatives to opioids for pain will also be dispersed through Hold Out the Lifeline (HOTL), a faith-based organization with a reach of approximately 40,000 members. Partnerships with law enforcement and first responders will be continued through work with the Vulnerability Assessment and hiring a health educator to educate and recruit emergency management services (EMS), law enforcement and fire departments in the use of OD MAPS. Lastly, funds will be used in a proposed prevention innovation project, an opioid prevention video series. Overall goals of the project include: decreased rate of opioid misuse and opioid use disorder, increased provision of evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, decreased rate of ED visits due to misuser or opioid use disorder and decreased drug overdose drug rate, including prescription and illicit opioid overdose death rates.
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).