El Paso, Teller counties could see more than $1 million a year in opioid settlement money amid spike in deaths
El Paso and Teller counties could see more than $1 million annually to help address the opioid drug epidemic that has evolved and worsened over time, with fentanyl deaths expected to double this year and potentially take more than 100 lives in El Paso County.
This fall El Paso County Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly raised the alarm on accidental overdose deaths caused by fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, that many users may not even know they are ingesting. He called for the “cavalry” to provide more treatment given the rapidly rising number of deaths. As of mid-September his office had seen 66 fentanyl overdose deaths, compared with 47 deaths for all of 2020 and 21 in 2019.
Colorado has seen a similar upward trend in drug overdose deaths, losing 1,477 people to overdoses in 2020, up from 1,072 deaths in 2019, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment data show.
The state jump would have been “earth-shaking news in public health” but for the larger battle against COVID-19 that claimed far more lives last year, said Joe Hanel, spokesman for the Colorado Health Institute, a nonprofit focused on health research and policy. He said fentanyl largely drove the increase across the state as well.
Hanel said he sees a major opportunity on the horizon to combine hundreds of millions of funding the state legislature has set aside for behavioral health care from federal coronavirus stimulus funds and millions from the settlements against major drug makers to address widespread addiction problems.
“It’s the biggest opportunity that we’ve have had in terms of resources, and it comes at a time when people are very aware of the problem and there is just much more willingness to talk about mental health and substance use than there has been even just a few years ago. So there is a huge appetite to do something meaningful,” Hanel said. For example, state dollars could build facilities and the settlement dollars could staff them, he said.
The state could see up to $400 million next year from its settlements with drug-makers Johnson and Johnson, Purdue Pharma and others over 18 years, said Lawrence Pacheco, Attorney General’s Office spokesman. The largest portion of the money, 60%, will be distributed to 19 regions across the state to meet each areas’ specific needs. Municipalities and counties could also receive payments, he said.
The local region, including El Paso and Teller counties, could see $1 million to $1.6 million annually over the 18-year window, said Steven Klaffky with the County Attorney’s Office in an El Paso County Commission meeting Tuesday. In addition, El Paso County would get about $100,000 annually over the same time frame, he said.
The regional money will be managed by a council that has yet to be formed and must write a two-year plan for the funds, said Natalie Sosa, a spokeswoman for El Paso County. The state will approve the regions’ plans.
Local municipalities and counties must sign memorandums of understanding with the Attorney General’s Office to participate in regional council, and Sosa could not say who all the partners will be yet.
The El Paso County commissioners unanimously approved their agreement with the attorney general’s office Tuesday.
Colorado Springs has already signed its agreement and expects to participate in the regional council, city spokesperson Jamie Fabos said.
“I would anticipate that the funding would flow to organizations that have limited funding but that have been most impactful in preventing addiction and providing treatment. I’d cite Springs Recovery Connection as the type of organization that would benefit,” Mayor John Suthers said in a statement. Springs Recovery Connection is a nonprofit that trains peer coaches to support people getting sober and has big plans to expand.
The region also has plenty of needs that could use funding, and El Paso County Public Health Medical Director Dr. Robin Johnson lauded the additional resources.
“Opioids have been a problem long before COVID-19, and with the pressures of COVID-19, are emerging as an even greater imperative for prevention in our community. These funds are a positive and welcome addition to help prevent disease, addiction and deaths associated with opioid use. We are excited to work with experts in our community to use these monies through collaboration and innovation for sustainable change,” she sa in a statement.
One of the community’s biggest holes for care is an inpatient facility for rehabilitative drug treatment extending 30 to 90 days, Trudy Hodges, CEO of Springs Recovery Connection, told The Gazette in August.
Drug users trying to kick the habit are being sent to facilities in other cities, she said, with residential treatment centers “almost always full,” said Dawn Martin, owner of Recovery Unlimited, which has in business in Colorado Springs for 10 years.
The city also needs “better and more extensive detox,” Hodges said, as well as additional outpatient programs.
The community has a shortage of counselors, too, Martin said.
Across the state, intervention and recovery experts said they would prioritize substance use disorder and treatment expansion followed by recovery supports, such as peer counseling, using the settlement dollars, a Colorado Health Institute survey found. Some lower priorities included harm reduction programs, such as needle exchange programs.
An expansion of care could be challenged by an overall workforce shortage, Hanel said.
“The workforce shortage, it’s profound, and I don’t know that anybody has an answer for it yet. … But that doesn’t change the need,” he said.