County to use state grant to help treat inmates for addiction
Aug. 29—Astate grant will help improve drug treatment for Clatsop County Jail inmates struggling with opioid addiction.
The county Public Health Department is slated to receive about $267,600 of a $6.2 million Behavioral Resources Health Network grant awarded to organizations that tackle the issue of substance abuse: treating addiction, preventing overdoses, providing mental health care and helping to house and employ people.
The other recipients are Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, Clatsop Community Action, Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, Providence Seaside Hospital Foundation, Iron Tribe Network and Morrison Child & Family Services.
As of last week, almost every Oregon county had been approved for a grant.
Of Clatsop County's share, $33,110 will go toward an automated medication system — a Pyxis machine — at the new jail under construction at the former North Coast Youth Correctional Facility in Warrenton. An additional $71,890 from opioid remediation funding will pay for the rest of the system, according to a county staff report.
A Pyxis machine is a device used at hospitals to store, dispense and manage medications.
The machine will live in the new jail's medical suite and dispense drugs like Suboxone, a medication that reduces opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Methadone, a more potent treatment medication, won't be prescribed. "We'll provide an alternative that's as close as possible," Sheriff Matt Phillips said.
The current jail on Duane Street in Astoria offers medication for people in a treatment program, but it is stored on shelves, which is not considered best practice.
"We're really looking to do it better, have more controls," Phillips said.
The focus will be on inmates who arrive in the middle of a treatment program and don't want to fall off their regimen. Inmates experiencing severe withdrawal can also receive medication after undergoing a Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale assessment.
The money is available through Measure 110, passed by Oregon voters in November 2020.
The measure, supported by 58% of Clatsop County voters, decriminalized street drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. The measure traded drug arrests for tickets, and gave people the option of seeking treatment rather than paying a small fine. To date, few have availed themselves of treatment services, which continue to be underfunded.
Phillips and others in law enforcement opposed the measure. Detractors have argued that arresting people for drug possession is often the only way to get them into treatment before their addiction goes too far.
"We can't pat ourselves on the back when we put up all this treatment but ignore prevention," Phillips said.
The remainder of the county grant will fund harm reduction measures.
These include the county's needle exchange program. County workers give out fresh syringes in exchange for used ones. The county also provides naloxone — a nasal spray used to bring people back from overdoses — strips to test drugs for fentanyl — a deadly synthetic opioid — and information on recovery options.
Harm reduction expresses the view that, as long as people use drugs, it is best to help them use safely so that, one day, they might be able to find sobriety and stability.
