On Global Overdose Awareness Day, Mills Administration Announces Further more Steps to Battle Opioid Epidemic

Maine Department of Health and Human Providers boosts fees for compound use problem treatment and resources recovery program with 20 areas across 8 counties Department of Labor extends work initiative for Maine people influenced by substance use dysfunction

Governor Janet Mills now announced her Administration is getting even more motion to battle Maine’s opioid epidemic, together with appreciably raising reimbursement for household compound use ailment treatment, granting new resources for a recovery software serving 8 Maine counties, and extending a vital employment software for Maine men and women afflicted by the opioid disaster.

The steps appear on Intercontinental Overdose Awareness Working day, a around the world observation of the toll drug overdoses have taken on individuals and their family members. This 12 months in Maine, drug overdoses continue being at unparalleled amounts, due to common availability of the lethal narcotic fentanyl and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Mills issued a proclamation declaring today Intercontinental Overdose Awareness Day in Maine.

“Our condition is diminished just about every time we get rid of a man or woman to a drug overdose, and my coronary heart breaks for their buddies, family members, and neighborhood customers,” reported Governor Janet Mills. “I want every single man or woman in Maine to have the option to stay a satisfied and healthy existence and to lead to the achievements of our state. With drug overdose deaths achieving report degrees as a end result of the pandemic and the greater prevalence of fentanyl, our administration is doing what ever we can avert drug use, support recovery, and help save life. On this Overdose Recognition Working day, allow us honor the memories of those we have dropped by redoubling our attempts to conserve some others.”

“International Overdose Awareness Working day is a minute to mourn every single person we have lost to the opioid epidemic and understand all people who have survived and are now functioning on their restoration,” mentioned Gordon Smith, Director of Opioid Response. “We have to also thank the legions of health care workers, unexpected emergency responders, regulation enforcement, and Fantastic Samaritans whose well timed interventions have aided maintain people alive all through an overdose, and to the restoration staff, addiction counselors and other individuals who are making thorough and committed efforts to enable Maine people today overcome material use ailment and prosper.”

As part of the today’s actions, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is dedicating $2.1 million in MaineCare resources to maximize reimbursement prices for SUD vendors to assistance obtain to productive substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. All concentrations of SUD household treatment will see improves, such as a 77 percent increase for cleansing vendors that will enhance charges from $217 to $385 a working day for every personal and a 56 percent enhance for midway household providers that will elevate fees from $106 to $165 a day for every specific. The new fees had been funded as a result of the biennial funds signed into regulation by the Governor in July and just lately accepted by the U.S. Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Solutions. The new prices will consider effect Nov. 1, 2021.

DHHS has also awarded a $300,000 grant to Healthy Acadia that will let the MaineRecoveryCorps system to continue on supporting Maine people with substance use disorder in 20 areas across 8 counties, which includes 5 county jails and various health care services. The plan currently supports 111 Maine people in recovery.

“Saving lives from drug overdoses incorporates making sure that those having difficulties with compound use dysfunction can get high-excellent treatment and assistance when they will need it,” claimed DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “Increasing reimbursement prices for this essential assistance and supporting recovery coaches who information Maine persons on the path to recovery convey us that significantly closer to switching the training course of the opioid epidemic. On this Overdose Recognition Working day, we honor all those we have missing, acknowledge individuals who survived, and remind all Maine individuals that assistance is generally accessible.”

Furthermore, the Maine Section of Labor is extending its Connecting with Options Initiative, a application for Maine people impacted by the opioid epidemic to get instruction, capabilities training, and occupation lookup help via the end of 2022. The Initiative also prepares Maine men and women for professions in fields that instantly take care of substance use problems, this kind of as counseling, dependancy treatment, and mental health treatment. Funded by a federal grant to MDOL in 2020, a lot more than 400 Maine folks have entered the plan to date.

“Connecting with Possibilities allows facilitate and strengthen the local community partnerships and collaboration with companies essential to tackle the opioid epidemic and its impression on personnel,” reported Maine Office of Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman. “This grant serves those people directly influenced by the opioid crisis, and people who want to give important aid to people today impacted by substance use problem. This important application invests in Maine persons and will help enhance the variety of pros to deliver desperately required companies we require throughout Maine. We stimulate any individual fascinated to go to the program’s web page for enrollment.”

“The system has been the most impactful one resource accessible to citizens returning to Maine’s communities from jail and jail,” explained Bruce Noddin, founder of the Maine Prisoner Re-Entry Community. “The program’s holistic method to workforce growth, collaborative spirit, and concentration on the opioid crisis have built it possible for people who are incarcerated and impacted by the opioid crisis to ‘dare to dream’ about their long run. The program’s favourable impacts are felt by people today, but these optimistic impacts ripple in the course of our communities and the entire point out of Maine.”

Today’s steps are the most current by the Mills Administration as element of its continued, in depth response to the opioid epidemic in Maine.

More endeavours include things like DHHS’ get the job done to remodel the method of expert services for people today with behavioral health problems, together with via extra than $110 million in investments as portion of the biennial finances to help avoidance, early intervention, hurt reduction, all concentrations of treatment, disaster care, and restoration aid.

These investments will increase MaineCare obtain to mothers and fathers with material use disorder aid a few new evidence-primarily based courses for expecting, parenting, and postpartum Maine people today increase compound use treatment beds boost reimbursement charges for intensive outpatient treatment and guidance the addition of Licensed Group Behavioral Health Clinics that offer you 24/7 significant-high-quality, thorough treatment. DHHS in July also issued $14.6 million in supplemental MaineCare payments to behavioral health suppliers to aid them cope with the consequences of the pandemic.

The Administration has also launched Alternatives, a method which put liaisons around the state to hook up persons who have overdosed to restoration providers and treatment, boost drug prevention and harm reduction strategies, and distribute naloxone, the lifesaving overdose medication.

Possibilities liaisons now offer vital companies to people in 14 Maine counties. From March-July of this year, Selections liaisons have supported 495 individuals throughout the condition to hook up them with very important treatment and restoration applications, damage reduction resources, and distribute naloxone kits. In June, DHHS and the Partnership to Close Addiction introduced a cost-free texting provider that alerts Maine people to any unexpected enhance in overdoses in their counties and connects them with Options resources.

Before this 12 months, Governor Mills signed unexpected emergency laws to build an Accidental Drug Overdose Dying Evaluation Panel within just the Business office of the Lawyer General. The panel will review a subset of overdose deaths to discover from the situations bordering them and modify policies when essential, with the purpose of lowering a lot more overdose fatalities.

This followed the start of mainedrugdata.org, an on the web portal for in depth and timely neighborhood info about the harms of drug use in Maine, launched previously this year by the College of Maine, in collaboration with the Business office of the Attorney Typical and Governor’s Business office of Coverage Innovation and the Future.

Other opioid-reaction actions include:

• Increasing the selection of Restoration Group Facilities from 9 to 15 and the selection of Restoration Residences from 101 to 120.
• Obtaining 182,375 doses and distributing 110,808 doses of naloxone as a result of public health and damage reduction organizations.
• Recruiting and training more than 530 new restoration coaches.
• Launching the Maine Maternal Opioid Misuse (Mother) program to boost treatment for pregnant Mainers and new parents struggling with opioid use dysfunction
• Expanding the availability of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) to incarcerated folks in Maine and connecting them to group vendors upon release.
• Updating the state’s Opioid Reaction Strategic Strategy with new suggestions (PDF) to address troubles created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For info about compound use dysfunction assistance and assets, phone 211, text your zip code to 898-211, e-mail [email protected], take a look at the Maine 211 site, or go to the Choices web site.

According to the Maine Business office of the Attorney General, 52 Maine persons are considered to have died from a drug overdose in July, even though 835 some others are recognised to have survived an overdose. In 2021, 77 p.c of overdose fatalities in Maine are joined to fentanyl, often in mix with other medication, and 96 p.c are deemed accidental.