Opioids killed 44 in Beaufort Co. in last year. $900K settlement aims to reverse trend
Beaufort County, which recorded 306 suspected opioid overdoses — 44 fatal — in the past 12 months, is expected to receive nearly $1 million from a lawsuit settlement to lessen the local impact of opioid abuse.
As a lead party in a national opioid lawsuit, the county is requesting $912,109 from the settlement.
The money will create three full-time positions to help set opioid strategies throughout the county, start a prevention and education campaign, and help fund other agencies and organizations working on prevention.
Officials say it’s important to destigmatize opioid abuse.
“[Opioid abuse] has affected every class of individuals, whether they’re low-income, high-income, it doesn’t matter,” said County Council Chairman Joe Passiment. “They have a problem, and we have to find a solution. The solution is not to just treat them as a criminal, right?”
The money is being split into two separate awards. The first portion, worth about $299,000, will go toward funding the salaries, benefits and start up cost of three new positions within county government.
Those three new positions are:
- A Medication Assisted Treatment Coordinator who will be responsible for “screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment” (SBIRT) activities. They will fast-track patients with opioid-use disorders and assess, refer, and develop a plan of care. They also will supervise peer recovery support staff and conduct follow-ups with patients. They’ll make $65,000 a year.
- A peer support specialist who will be embedded in the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Emergency Department, doing SBIRT screenings and referrals to help patients struggling with substance abuse. They’ll make $35,000 a year.
- A human services counselor who will be embedded in the Beaufort County Detention Center, coordinating with medical staff to identify whether new detainees are substance abusers, perform outreach for those in need of opiates or other substances, and provide education and transition support. They’ll make $52,000.
The rest of the funds, about $612,000, will go toward funding the new positions until June 30, 2024, and the other strategies.
The prevention campaign is a pivotal part of the process, said County Councilperson Tab Tabernik.
“I think making people aware of it is the best we can do at this point,” she said. “You’re not going to stop people that are using it. It’s all personal responsibility at the end, but we can still do our part to help people understand it.”
The county is also working with Beaufort County School District to start education on the topic early.
Assisting not only those taking opioids but also anyone who’s impacted by opioid-use disorder was important for this initiative, County Administrator Greenway said.
“Just like any addiction, there’s always collateral damage,” he said. “First of all, it harms the person who is addicted. But, secondly, it harms the folks that are related to the person or are in a relationship with the person who’s addicted.”
The entities receiving funding include Beaufort Memorial Hospital, the Good Neighbor Free Medical Clinic in Beaufort, the Beaufort and Port Royal fire districts, and Alliance Access Health. They’ll be awarded on May 16 during a ceremony at the Beaufort County Administration Courtyard.
County council will take final vote on the ordinances at its next meeting on May 8. It’s expected that both ordinances will pass.
“If somebody doesn’t vote for it,” Tabernik said. “I’d wonder ‘What the heck?’”
