$300K In Grants To Help Camden County Battle Opioid Addiction

CAMDEN COUNTY NJ — Camden County will receive nearly $300,000 to combat the opioid epidemic as the number of fatal overdoses continues to climb.

The Camden County Office of Mental Health and Addiction was awarded a $190,000 innovation grant to cover the cost of medical visits, buprenorphine, case management and transportation for people who are uninsured. The program is geared towards members of the reentry population and those who are unable to immediately obtain insurance.

To be eligible, residents must have no other means of obtaining treatment. Treatment through the program will be provided by ARS Crossroads in Pennsauken.

It also received $100,000 to create an Overdose Fatality Review Team (OFRT). The team will consist of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Medical Examiner, local health systems and treatment centers, probation, parole, harm reduction experts, law enforcement, and other key stakeholders who will convene over the course of one year to review about 45 fatalities in great detail.

“These grants will continue to assist us in expanding our vision of treatment, education and ending the stigma around substance use disorder,” Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “This ongoing public health crisis has not subsided and, in fact, has been exasperated by COVID, so expanding our work is vital to our mission.”

According to the State Attorney General’s Office, the number of fatal overdoses in Camden County increased each year from 2013 through 2019. The year-by-year information can be found below:

• 2013: 160 deaths at a rate of 1 per 3,188 people; there were 432,969 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2014: 138 deaths at a rate of 1 per 3,685 people; there were 445,336 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2015: 191 deaths at a rate of 1 per 2,659 people; there were 1,505 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 337 people; there were 473,204 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2016: 200 deaths at a rate of 1 per 2,535 people; there were 1,098 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 462 people; there were 450,072 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2017: 307 deaths at a rate of 1 per 1,649 people; there were 2,493 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 203 people; there were 415,775 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2018: 329 deaths at a rate of 1 per 1,541 people; there were 1,137 naloxone administrations at a rate of 1 per 162 people; there were 367,679 opioid prescriptions dispensed
• 2019: 340 deaths with 2,824 naloxone administrations; there were 361,813 opioid prescriptions dispensed.
• 2020: 175 deaths through Wednesday with 1,570 naloxone administrations; there were 194,489 opioid prescriptions dispensed.

No information on rates were provided for 2019 and 2020.

“We cannot allow the scourge of opioid abuse to continue destroying families, ruining futures, and taking the lives of innocent members of our community,” Cappelli said. “While ensuring that treatment is accessible to everyone, these grants will also enable our team to study fatal overdoses more closely with the hope of discovering new and innovative solutions to this crisis.”

In 2019, a joint Rutgers-Eagleton/Farleigh Dickinson University poll found that roughly a quarter of New Jersey residents or their family members had taken a prescription opioid painkiller in the previous 12 months. Seven in 10 respondents rated prescription drug use as a serious problem in their community.

Since 2013, there have been more than 1,600 suspected overdose deaths in Camden County alone, according to data collected by the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General. Last year, there were 3,200 overdoses in Camden County, 329 of which were fatal.

In August, the county opened a memorial at Timber Creek Park in Gloucester Township that honors victims of overdose and addiction. Earlier this year, Camden County officials introduced a pilot program to study the use of Fentanyl testing strips by anyone who is battling addiction.

Other initiatives Camden County has in place to combat the opioid epidemic include Project SAVE, an early intervention program at the municipal court level; putting naloxone in the hands of all first responders; and working with medical providers to limit opioid prescriptions have played a vital role in curbing the public health crisis.

The county also has a Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program to combat opioid abuse among prisoners in the county’s jail. Read more here: Camden County's Drug Treatment Program For Prisoners To Expand

Throughout the cornavirus pandemic, the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force, Department of Health and Human Services, Camden County Jail and Office of Mental Health and Addiction, have continued to work collaboratively and with external partners to combat the opioid crisis and fight addiction.

For more information about these or any other mental health or substance abuse programs, contact the Office of Mental Health & Addiction at 856-374-6320.