Community Medical Centers of Stockton gets $4.5M to boost Respite Center

Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record
Updated ·4 min read

As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage communities nationwide, Stockton has been given additional funding to combat the crisis.

This week, Stockton City Council approved an agreement for professional services with Community Medical Centers (CMC). With the council's vote, CMC will receive $4.5 million over a three-year period. The nonprofit has promised to use the funds to expand existing substance use disorder treatment, including withdrawal and residential treatment, delivered through its Respite Center.

The Respite Center, which opened last year, is the first residential facility and the first detox facility in CMC's network. It is located at the corner of Stanislaus and Channel streets in downtown Stockton.

The money that will be given to the center comes from the city's portion of the National Opioid Settlements. The first was a 2021 settlement involving Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson. The second was a 2022 settlement involving CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart.

At the national level, total funding from the settlement agreements is estimated to reach $43.3 billion. More than $3 billion will be given to California through 2038, according to the state’s Department of Health Care Services.

City officials said Stockton has already received its first $1 million payment under the agreements. It is anticipated that Stockton will receive annual payments for up to 18 years.

Stockton is expected to receive more than $10 million over the distribution period for both settlements. Settlement funds must be used for substance use prevention, intervention, harm reduction, and treatment services, according to Alex Bailey, program manager for the city of Stockton.

"This agreement is the first of what is anticipated to be multiple initiatives for using funds during the potential 18-year distribution term," Bailey told council members. "City staff will explore additional fund uses in collaboration with other community partners."

Opioid-related deaths on the rise in Stockton

Community Medical Centers chief behavioral health officer Alfonso Apu speaks at the introduction of Stockton’s first-of -its-kind mobile crisis intervention response pilot program during a new conference at the Stockton Ballpark in downtown Stockton on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. The program, a joint venture between CMC and the City of Stockton, will deal behavioral health calls that are currently handled by the police.

Alfonso Apu, chief behavioral health officer at Community Medical Centers, said that by partnering with CMC, the city increased its number of available bed spaces to help people to manage their withdrawal symptoms.

The Respite Center currently offers 13 beds for up to 14 days to help patients address mild withdrawal symptoms, but leaders will continue to look for ways to meet the community’s needs.

"Per data from the health department, we know that last year there was 111 opioid-related deaths in the Stockton area and there was a 121% increase in fentanyl deaths in this area too," Apu said.

Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley supported the partnership with CMC and said that one overdose death is a death too many.

"The crisis impacts so many lives beyond the 111," she said. "When someone dies of an overdose, it not only impacts the individual, but their families and their communities as well."

Pat Barrett shared her personal testimony with council members before the vote. The Stockton woman said she struggled with drug addiction, but entered a 45-day recovery program and hasn't relapsed since.

"Immediately after withdrawing, you're craving it and if you don't have that support to stay away from it, you're going to go right back to it," she said. "CMC was created to serve underserved people and this is their purpose. It's the drug addicts and the alcoholics that need to be paid attention to in order for our city to keep growing."

In other action...

  • Council members approved appointments to the Charter Review Advisory Commission. Gwendolyn Dailey, D'adrie Davie, and Tracy Glaves will serve on the commission until December 31, 2024. Motecuzoma Sanchez, Gregory Bahr, and Lauren Olavarria will serve on the commission until Dec. 31, 2026. Sanchez was denied a mayoral appointment to the same citizen's commission in 2015.

  • Council members awarded a construction contract in the amount of $798,910 to McFadden Construction, Inc. to replace the shade structure at Weber Point Events Center. Construction is expected to be completed in November 2024.

  • The first required public hearing to discuss an extension of Measure A was held. Measure A is a three-quarter cent transaction and use tax passed by Stockton voters in 2013. The measure was intended to pull the city out of bankruptcy and restore city services that had been disrupted. The tax will sunset on March 31, 2024, unless the council votes to extend the sunset date. A second hearing is scheduled on Dec. 5.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Community Medical Centers of Stockton gets $4.5M to boost respite center