County Funds 5 Projects with Opioid Funds
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson County Council this week approved the five projects for funding using funds from the South Carolina Opioid Recovery Fund.
The county will provide $435,683 for a new partnership between Anderson County, Clemson University, AnMed, and Prisma Upstate for Managing Abstinence in Newborns (MAiN) which provides comprehensive specialized medical care for infants that focuses on providing relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness. This project aims to expand long-term. treatment and services for medical monitoring of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a condition that affects babies who were exposed to certain drugs in the womb. NAS babies and their families will be provided comprehensive wrap-around services to individuals with Opioid Use Disorder, including housing, transportation, job placement/training, and childcare.
The Detention Center Treatment Program will receive $150,000 to provide detoxification. assistance, addiction treatment, counseling, and post-release aftercare and referrals to detainees. The opioid program funds will be used for health/wellness programs offered to inmates suffering from addiction, and to support contractual services that will provide licensed Mental Health/Behavioral Service professionals and Nurse Practitioners at the Detention Center.
Another renewal of funding is $80,000 for The Bridge Center Residential Treatment Scholarships to make residential treatment available to those seeking help who may lack the ability to pay for services. The Bridge Center offers residential treatment for males (scholarship programs for females have been made available to Shalom House and Love Well in previously-approved active projects.) Scholarships will cover four months of residential treatment at the Bridge Center, staff recommends making 20 scholarships available at $4,000 each.
The Coroner’s Office Drug Education Initiative will also receive $40,000 to continue its community outreach efforts concerning opioid abuse. The program concentrates on civic organizations, churches, elementary schools, and high schools in Anderson County.
Finally, PlaySafe Community Connect Initiative will receive $90,510 to continue its opioid abuse prevention programs in the Anderson County school system. In the program’s first year, almost 1,800 student athletes and over 700 parents have received formal opioid misuse prevention education. In addition, almost 10,000 county middle and high school students have received opioid misuse prevention materials during training room visits.
The total funding for all programs is $796,193. Anderson County’s SCORF balance will be approximately $1.5 million. According to SCORF records, the county is due to receive an additional $876,017.39 in funding this year and a total amount of more than $4.7 million over the next five years.
