$7.5M Unveiled For Opioid Help; Mom Reflects On Loss: 'I Feel Broken'

LONG ISLAND, NY — Saturday will mark six years since Krista Bertschi last saw her son's bright, smiling blue eyes. The last time she held him in her arms for a hug. Bertschi's son, Anthony Mazzella, died Jan. 22, 2017, of a fentanyl overdose. He was just 21.

On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the availability of up to $7.5 million in funding for state-certified providers and other treatment programs to establish low threshold buprenorphine services to address opioid addiction.

Administered by the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, the grants will be the first to tap New York State's Opioid Settlement Fund and will help develop up to 15 programs offering this safe, effective treatment for opioid use disorder.

Earlier in January, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced the distribution of funds from the multi-million dollar settlement agreements it reached with major opioid distributors and retail pharmacies.

Suffolk will have more than $200 million to fight the opioid epidemic over the next 20 years, he said. The funds will help the county battle the opioid crisis, along with allowing it to aid those who have been affected by the drugs.

"We are dedicated to the idea that these funds will go toward helping those individuals and families who have suffered; that these funds will go toward helping to end the opioid epidemic once and for all," Bellone said. "Every single dollar. That is our commitment."

Bertschi, of Coram, turned to social media Friday, remembering her beloved son, resolving as she has, for years, to fight for change.

"It's so hard to believe that we are approaching 6 years since you were taken from us," she said. "I still have to coach myself through getting up and pushing through each day but days like today, it's not just hard to get up — it's hard to breathe. I loved you first and I will love you forever."

The last time she saw him, her son Anthony was wearing a blue sweater that made his "beautiful blue eyes look like the ocean," she said.

"I remember hugging you tightly when you left the game and telling you how much I loved you," she said. "I remember your arms around me and you saying how much you loved me. If only I had known that less than 24 hours later I would get the call that is every parents' worst nightmare, I would have hugged you so much longer. Actually, I would have never let you go."

On that day, despite his struggle, Bertschi felt her son was looking great, feeling better, on the path to recovery.

"I was so happy to have my son back and I swore we'd beaten this."

The next morning, her phone rang at 7 a.m.

"It was Anthony's dad," she said. "He said he couldn't wake up Anthony. He said, 'Anthony's stiff.'"

"I didn't know what that meant. I started screaming at him, 'What does that mean?' For months, I'd walked down the hall by his room, praying to God I wouldn't find him like that. But now, he was good, this wasn't supposed to happen," Bertschi said. "He had it beat!"

Frantic with despair, she raced to her car, repeating, over and over again, a mother's mantra and fervent prayer: "I know I can wake him up. I know I can wake him up. I have to get there, fast. Get there, fast."

But when she got to Anthony's father's home, the area was roped off, police holding back Bertschi and her daughter.

"I just wanted to hug him. I couldn't understand what happened, why this happened. They held me back physically because they didn't want us to see him," she said.

Voice breaking, she said, "I don't understand. I would have known if he wasn't good. What happened?"

The questions will echo forever.

The next days were a blur; she remembers little of the funeral home. In her mind, she spoke to her precious firstborn, begging for answers.

"I'd say, 'Please tell Mommy what happened. You were so good. Please, tell me what happened.'"

On the morning of the wake, a letter came from the hospital, addressed to her son, indicating that he'd left the emergency room before treatment for an overdose the Thursday night before he died.

"That told me that this demon was back," Bertschi said.

Because he'd been clean for so long, the drug's impact was deadly, she said.

The funding announced Friday is meant to provide hope, Hochul said.

"Far too many New Yorkers have been lost to the scourge of opioid overdoses and addiction," Hochul said. "This funding, through the Opioid Settlement Fund, will help bring new hope to those struggling with substance use disorder, remove barriers to treatment that saves lives, and turn the tide of the opioid crisis in our state."

The funding will provide up to $500,000 for 15 programs statewide to offer low threshold buprenorphine services. OASAS-certified treatment providers, clinics by the state Office of Mental Health, hospitals, syringe services programs, and harm reduction programs are eligible to apply for the funding.

While buprenorphine is a safe and effective way to treat opioid use disorder, many providers have rigid requirements for entering and continuing treatment, which ultimately limits the number of individuals who receive the medication. Comprehensive low threshold services will help to address the issue by allowing for same-day, immediate buprenorphine treatment and care management services, she said.

New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports Commissioner Dr. Chinazo Cunningham added: "Low threshold services are rooted in harm reduction principles that include same day treatment, a nonjudgmental approach, flexibility in prescribing medications, and making medication widely available in locations that reach people where they are. This initiative is part of OASAS' ongoing commitment to ensuring populations and communities across the state have equitable access to critical services and supports to treat opioid use disorder."

New York State received more than $2 billion through various settlement agreements with opioid manufacturers. A portion of those settlements will go directly to municipalities, with the remainder being deposited into a dedicated fund to support prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and education efforts to address the ongoing opioid epidemic, Hochul said.

The legislation that established the dedicated fund also created the Opioid Settlement Fund advisory board, tasked with making recommendations on how settlement dollars should be allocated to best serve those in need. Board members issued their first recommendations on November 1, identifying the expansion of harm reduction services as a top priority, Hochul said.

New York has continued statewide to grapple with opioid-related deaths in 2021, with fentanyl now involved in most overdose deaths statewide, according to a report released by the state Department of Health this week. Other key findings include:

• 4,766 overdose deaths involving opioids, a 14 percent increase over the prior year.
• 10,430 outpatient emergency department visits due to opioid overdoses, a 12.6 percent increase over the prior year.
• 19,139 instances of naloxone being administered by Emergency Medical Services, an 11.8 percent increase over the prior year.

OASAS oversees one of the nation's largest substance use disorder systems of care with about 1,700 prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery programs serving more than 680,000 individuals per year. As the state's opioid treatment authority, OASAS coordinates state-federal relations in addiction services and is also responsible for monitoring the use of settlement funds to ensure that the funds appropriated in the budget are expended for their designated purpose.

Locally, prevention advocates spoke out about Hochul's funding news.

"This is a much-welcomed announcement and I'm happy to see some of those long-awaited opioid settlement dollars finally being deployed into local communities in order to save lives," said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive officer of the Family and Children's Association in Mineola. "These grants will be distributed via the state's 10 Empire State Development regions; I certainly hope that Long Island will receive more than one grant because new programming in Elmont won't help the folks in Montauk and there's a lot of people in need of services islandwide."

He added: "Buprenorphine is an evidence-based treatment that can help curb the cravings associated with opioid dependence and get folks on the path to recovery. Enhancing access is an important part of the treatment continuum, especially here on Long Island where transportation and other barriers can get in the way. We are eager to learn more about the governor's plan as the death toll mounts daily — and we are anxious to hear more about how New York State plans to deploy the rest of these vital funds."

Newscaster Drew Scott, who lost his granddaughter Hallie Rae to an overdose, has fought the battle against opioid addiction on Long Island, co-heading a Southampton task force and raising awareness.

“7.5 million isn’t a lot of money statewide, and I’m praying this isn’t too little, too late," he said Friday.

Mark Epley, owner and CEO of the Seafield Center, added: "The money is designated only for not-for-profit agencies, which eliminates many of the OASAS certified treatment agencies who already provide medication assisted treatment agencies. Reading the grant, we already provide this service in the format that they are requiring. The issue is not about adequate treatment programs and services but the lack of qualified counselors. According to the Rockefeller Institute SUD staffing study in November 2021, New York State has 42 percent of the required staffing for SUD counselors. The money should be focused on staff recruitment and development."

Also, he said, Hochul signed into law, effective January 1, 2023 legislation that prohibits copayments for treatment opioid treatment programs.

"Copayment is major issue for patients seeking treatment, especially low income families," Epley said. "Why did she only recognize the opioid treatment Ppograms and not all programs providing substance abuse services? 40 percent of the patients we treat have a primary diagnosis of opioid dependence."

For Bertschi, the years after her son's death have been a blanket of agony. "I feel broken," Bertschi told Patch Friday. "A huge piece of my heart is in heaven and that broken piece can never be fixed. I just try to navigate through life as this new version of me and try to live for him and the rest of my family."

But her fervent wish is that by sharing her family's story, not only will she keep her beloved boy's memory alive, that she might save another mom or dad from ever having to get that unthinkable call.

Still the specter of the 6-year mark daunts: "The more time that passes the harder it is," Bertschi said. "When i think its been 6 years since I've hugged or kissed him or spoken to him it takes my breath away — like I got kicked in the chest. I talk to him every day. When I get up in the morning the first thing I do is kiss his picture and tell him love him. If I could see him I would hug him so tight — and not let go."