Spokane County Announces Plans for Initial $7.2 Million in Opioid Settlement Disbursements

Spokane County is poised to invest $5.2 million in hands-on medical treatments to detox and treat drug addicts as elected officials try to stem the deepening fentanyl crisis.

The treatment expense, approved Tuesday by Spokane County commissioners, represents the bulk of $7.2 million available from initial disbursements of money won from state lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

I think we all know that this epidemic has done so much damage to our community and across the country, Commissioner Chris Jordan said before the vote. The scale of pain for the families of the victims is immense. I believe the settlement money is our opportunity to bring some solutions to the table to promote public health and safety here in Spokane County.

Washington state has received more than $1.1 billion in opioid lawsuits and settlements in recent years. About half will be distributed to local jurisdictions, and Spokane County expects to receive about $17.5 million in fees through 2038.

Spokane County has identified four areas of investment for the initial settlement disbursements, all of which are intended to fill existing gaps in the regional treatment network, Community Services Director Justin Johnson said.

We looked at all of these areas, mid-term treatment, long-term treatment, comprehensive involvement, gap areas and supportive housing, Johnson said. The county has looked at a wide range of areas that affect everything the community is looking for, but it most effectively addresses the areas where there are the biggest gaps, where insurance or other providers don’t cover.

County commissioners have agreed to allocate the $5.2 million to a proposed expansion of services at the Spokane Regional Stabilization Center; $1.2 million for the most immediate expansion of services provided by community partners; $600,000 for housing and treatment support for parents of infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome; and $200,000 to improve data on overdoses and substance use.

That’s where people are falling, and that’s where the county said we need to step in and be a leader, Johnson said.

The 45-bed Spokane Regional Stabilization Center opened in 2021 to provide medical and mental health services to those who often go through stints in jail and local emergency rooms without receiving treatment.

Currently, access to the facility is limited to those with prior reservations accompanied by a law enforcement officer and who meet certain requirements that require attention. Ashley Magee, the county’s integrated behavioral health manager, told the Spokane Valley City Council in March that 1,563 people were served by the facility in 2023.

Johnson said $5 million of the county’s settlement funds will go toward capital improvements at the facility, with the intent of expanding services to include crisis relief and stabilization for visitation and referrals, enhanced mental health and substance use treatment, and more extensive withdrawal and withdrawal. detoxification management care.

The latter is one of those gaps in the treatment system Johnson hopes the investment will help fill. Those going through detox or receiving withdrawal treatment may not always go to an inpatient facility, and more detox and inpatient facilities are needed in the region. Having these services in one place would be beneficial in getting those already in the facility on a treatment plan.

That’s the biggest challenge we have with people, Johnson said, is finding a place that provides a complete and safe environment so they can be encouraged to stay in care longer.

So I’m reducing this car ride, this cab ride, which, please walk here, to being literally walked, with someone who’s a partner, saying, I’ve been through this before, in the facility, in a safe environment.

The remaining $200,000 earmarked for the center will help cover its annual operating costs.

County Executive Scott Simmons said proposed plans for the facility are expected to cost $15 million to $18 million.

Commissioners have asked Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell to advocate for an additional $5 million in federal support, and local hospitals, the Spokane Regional Health District and the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley have contributed letters of support

Simmons said the county will likely need to seek additional funding from the state to achieve its vision for the center, and it will likely be several years before it becomes a reality.

Meanwhile, the county has dedicated $1.2 million to help community partners build out their existing treatment networks. Johnson said the county will issue a request for proposals in the coming weeks to see where those funds could be best used.

We have an immediate investment of funds to support current need, as well as long-term funding and investment to support current community need, Johnson said.

Having access to safe housing while receiving treatment is one of the challenges parents struggling with addiction face after having a child, she said.

There are facilities in the area like Maddies Place that provide care for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome and help parents get treatment themselves, but these families often return to environments where they can fall back into old habits.

When you put a mother with a new baby, with various challenges related to behavioral health and trauma, and you put them back into an environment where there may be other drug use, there are factors, Johnson said.

About $600,000 in settlement funding will go toward housing and support services for these families, with the hope that more integrated care in a stable setting will have lasting impacts on family health.

The county will also issue a request for proposals from care providers for that project in the coming weeks, Johnson said.

The remaining $200,000 in initial settlement allocations will go toward improving data collection related to the opioid crisis, to better inform counties’ approach to bridging existing gaps.

Johnson said there is no single way to track the impacts of the opioid crisis in the region. They gather data on fatal overdoses, interactions with local law enforcement, and information from providers and hospitals, but nothing provides the full picture.

The funds will cover, in part, the work that needs to be done to build this system, as well as a dedicated staff member to manage it.

So part of the challenge we face is how we can better track and understand trends within the community and effectively respond to services, Johnson said.

So the board has also approved the use of dollars to be provided to a data sharing and monitoring analyst to be able to collect all this data from the areas and then coordinate that with the monitoring of the current data from regional health districts, so that there is a greater depth of understanding. and knowledge of the system.

Johnson said the county was thorough in determining how to spend its settlement disbursements, using a community survey with more than 200 responses, internal reviews of the existing network and a panel of local experts, tribal members and from the community, suppliers and internal staff. members to help focus attention on these projects.

The settlements have provided seed funding, but Simmons said all projects will be sustainable through funding sources Johnson and his team have identified in the months of work leading up to the commissioners’ vote Tuesday. These sources include county mental health sales tax, Medicaid, and federal and state grants.

Johnson said there is more than enough funding available to keep the projects going, and part of the initial investments is building the infrastructure and network needed to qualify for some of those funding sources.

The four commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting tipped their cap to Johnson and county staff members during their months of work to identify where the funding would be best used.

Commissioner Amber Waldref said she is excited about the opportunity to expand the stabilization center and help vulnerable families with the challenge of turning over a new leaf.

Commissioners Josh Kerns and Al French noted that Spokane County was one of the first jurisdictions in the state to join the legal fray and said they look forward to seeing how the settlements will benefit the community.

We were on the cutting edge, one of the first counties to join the litigation, French said. Now we have the benefit of reaping the benefits, of having financial resources to help deal with addiction and its presence in our community.