$4.4 Million CDC Grant Awarded To Montgomery Co. To Fight Overdoses

NORRISTOWN, PA — Montgomery County has received a special $4.4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help fight overdoses and the ongoing opioid crisis.

The grant comes as Pennsylvania saw an estimated 5,147 drug overdose deaths in the past year, according to the most recent statistics and estimates from the CDC. Montgomery County, meanwhile, saw 187 deaths in the most recently tracked year-long span, Pennsylvania Department Health data shows.

Officials are optimistic the grant, which funds a 5-year cooperative agreement between the county and the CDC, will be impactful.

“We are thrilled to award this grant to Montgomery County and support their continued effort to prevent drug overdose and improve the lives of residents,” CDC Division of Overdose Prevention Director Grant Baldwin said in a statement. "(The program will) use data to inform prevention activities that make a significant impact in communities."

Montgomery County is one of just four in Pennsylvania to receive a grant, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Philadelphia and Allegheny counties. Only 89 jurisdictions across the country have received the award.

The Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) program helps counties to collect accurate, comprehensive, and timely data on both nonfatal and fatal overdoses. The data is then used to localize and tailor educational programs, medical response, surveillance efforts, and more.

Specifically, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services will use the funds to examine the utility of peer support, increasing harm reduction practices, reducing stigma associated with treatment, building interagency partnerships, and more.