KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo County will have almost a million dollars a year to spend to save the lives of substance abusers, thanks to the national opioid settlement at $947,800 per year.
Deputy Administrator Lyndi Smith says they expect to eventually get $14.6 million from drug makers and distributors who have admitted their culpability in an outbreak in fatal addictions due to pain killers. Fentanyl has made a bad situation worse.
Smith says they plan a four-pronged effort to enhance not just opioid but all substance abuse programs.
Local healthcare agencies would be able to apply for up to three-year contracts.
The program will be regularly evaluated for effectiveness.
County commissioners have endorsed the initial plan, recommended by a community task force. It will take a few months to go through the bidding process for contracts.
Board vice chair John Taylor says he would like to find a way to continue the program, even after the settlement money runs out, in about 14 years.
He says they will want to see a lot more data before making that decision, which would be a job for a future commission.
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