Harford County Receives $170K Grant For Opioid Response

HARFORD COUNTY, MD - The Harford County Health Department has received a grant from the state of Maryland that authorities hope will help curb heroin-related deaths.

The $170,313 grant will go toward creating a 24-hour hotline and purchasing naloxone in Harford County.

Funding comes from Maryland's Opioid Operational Command Center, which formed earlier this year in response to the state of emergency that Gov. Larry Hogan declared due to the rise in overdose deaths.

Currently, those in need of help with addiction in Harford County have been turning to emergency rooms.

Having a central access point is "critical for those who have substance use disorders in Harford County," Harford County Interim Health Officer Dr. Russel Moy said in a statement.

To that end, the county has earmarked $140,000 from the new grant to create a 24-hour opioid resource line that will connect those seeking help with community-based services.

Through the hotline, officials hope to provide assistance before emergency room care is required.

The telephone line will be up in early 2018 and will be highly publicized, according to Harford County Health Department spokeswoman Molly Mraz.

Peer recovery specialists from Jarrettsville nonprofit Addictions Connection Resource will staff the phone line, most who are in recovery from addiction themselves and have received additional education. They will link callers with health care professionals who can conduct screenings and assessments.

The remaining $30,313 will go toward naloxone for law enforcement.

The Harford County county task force responding to the opioid epidemic has set a goal of a 20 percent decrease in overdose deaths in 2018, and the additional naloxone supply is designed to make that possible, according to Mraz.

Officers in Harford County are already equipped with this drug, which can reverse the effects of an overdose. Officials say the grant will fund 400 additional kits.

"Unfortunately, Harford County law enforcement and other agencies have taken on the role of first responders and identifiers for overdoses and cardiac arrests associated with heroin overdoses," Harford County Emergency Services Director Edward Hopkins said in a statement.

In fact, a Harford County corporal was exposed to the extremely lethal synthetic opioid fentanyl while responding to an overdose call in Abingdon on May 19, officials said, and medics had to provide an antidote to him at the scene when he began exhibiting symptoms.

The state grant to stem the tide of heroin overdoses in Harford County comes from the Maryland Opioid Operational Command Center, and a Harford County task force determined how the funds would be allotted.

The task force includes health, judicial, law enforcement, emergency management and school officials; local fire and EMS departments; and the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health.

"We welcome this additional funding from Governor Hogan's Opioid Operational Command Center to help Harford County save lifes," County Executive Barry Glassman said in a statement, "and fight this unprecedented wave of opioid addiction affecting our families and communities."

Harford County has seen 349 heroin-related overdoses, of which 67 have been fatal, so far in 2017, the Harford County Sheriff's Office reported as of Tuesday.

Harford County reported 290 heroin-related overdoses, of which 56 were deadly, in all of 2016.

• Heroin Overdoses In Harford Surpass 2016 Year-End Total: Sheriff
• Maryland's Opioid Epidemic: Overdose Death Rate Doubles In Harford County
• Fentanyl Exposure In Harford Changes Approach To Overdoses
• Gov. Larry Hogan Declares State Of Emergency Due To Opioid Crisis

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