How will Camden County use millions in opioid settlement funds?

Phaedra Trethan, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·4 min read

Patty DiRenzo has waited for what seems like a lifetime to see some measure of accountability from the pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors who fueled an opioid crisis that plagues the country, and South Jersey.

Her son, Sal Marchese, died in 2010 from a heroin overdose, but his drug dependency began with a legitimate prescription for opioids after a dental procedure. Since his death, the Gloucester Township resident has worked tirelessly to advocate for harm reduction, overdose prevention and addiction treatment.

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At Wednesday's announcement that her employer, Camden County, would spend millions of dollars to increase programs geared toward treatment of mental health and substance use disorder, she expressed gratitude and relief, and more than a little regret that such programs were few when her son needed them most.

Still, she said, "to see this finally come to fruition, I'm so glad. We're doing so much, reducing the stigma, getting help to people who need it.

"We're moving forward."

Here's what's to come:

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) programs

Camden County will implement the following measures to improve access to treatment for substance use disorder and overdose prevention, officials said Wednesday.

  • A mobile outreach van will distribute buprenorphine, a medication used to reduce or mitigate cravings and withdrawal symptoms as part of a pilot program;

  • emergency departments county-wide will distribute take-home harm reduction kits that will include naloxone (also known by its brand name, Narcan), the opioid overdose antidote;

  • a new program, Narcotics Overdose Prevention & Education (NOPE) will launch in county middle and high school;

  • public service announcements and advertising efforts aimed at educating the public about the dangers of opioids and the availability of resources.

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Mental health initiatives

  • Follow-up case management after a patient has been discharged from a mental health crisis;

  • no-cost access to a licensed clinical mental health professional for children who have been suspended or expelled from school due to mental health or behavioral issues and "expedient access" to mental health clearance prior to their return to school;

  • support group, socialization and recreation services for boarding-home residents;

  • mental health navigators who will work with existing Project SAVE programs in municipal courts, a program that offers options to people with substance use disorder treatment in lieu of incarceration and other punitive measures

Where will the money come from?

The State of New Jersey is set to receive $641 million from settlements with four pharmaceutical companies: manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen. Over the next two decades, Camden County and municipalities with more than 10,000 residents will receive nearly $32 million.

Why are mental health and drug treatment programs needed?

Camden County ranked second-highest in the state for overdose deaths in 2022, with 354 fatalities.

Nationwide, the opioid crisis and the rise of more-lethal synthetic drugs like fentanyl claimed more than 100,000 lives last year; in New Jersey, 2,893 people fatally overdosed in 2022.

Prosecutor Grace MacAuley noted three young children were revived from fentanyl exposure by Narcan in just the past weekend. In January 2022, a 12-year-old boy died after allegedly being exposed to the deadly synthetic drug in his Gloucester Township home; two months later, a Blackwood man was charged in his death.

In addition, there is a mental health crisis among children and teens, the CDC has said. During the course of the pandemic 37 percent of students surveyed reported poor mental health in 2021 and 44 percent of respondents said they felt persistently sad or hopeless during the 2020-21 period. The New Jersey Hospital Association reported a 32 percent increase in pediatric mental health ER visits at one South Jersey health system from 2019-22; another local health system reported a 26 percent hike in mental health evaluations for youths 17 and under. The association also said there was a 26 percent increase in pediatric hospital visits for anxiety and an 8.4 percent increase in pediatric depressive disorders.

What they said

"We are all in a crisis," said Camden County Commissioner Virginia Betteridge, liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services. "There is a need in Camden County, and anyone who tells you there isn't, they're not being realistic."

The opioid epidemic represents "a huge and imminent threat throughout the United States," said MacAuley. "In Camden County, we've modified our goal to move toward a more positive way of policing from warrior to guardian," especially in cases of drug-related or mental health emergencies.

Phaedra Trethan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has called the region home since 1971. Contact her at ptrethan@gannettnj.com, on Twitter @wordsbyPhaedra, or by phone at 856.486-2417.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Opioid settlement: How Camden County NJ will spend money