Outagamie County received $800K to fight the opioid epidemic. How is it using that money?

APPLETON - Between 2020 and 2022, Outagamie County experienced 91 opioid-related deaths.

To prevent further deaths and abate the opioid epidemic, the county is looking to use a national opioid settlement fund to pay for treatment, prevention and awareness of opioid use.

Here is what you need to know:

How much of the opioid settlement did the county receive?

The money comes from national settlements totaling more than $50 billion with more than a dozen companies that made, sold or distributed opioid painkillers, including Johnson & Johnson and Walmart.

Outagamie County is slated to receive more than $5 million over the next 18 years. It received its first payment of $867,510 earlier this year to be used over the next few years.

County Health & Human Services Director John Rathman said these funds will be critical in helping the county combat the opioid crisis.

"Without this funding, we would not be able to do the prevention efforts that we want to do both locally and at a regional level," Rathman told The Post-Crescent.

So far, the county has used around $80,000 of those funds split between the Sheriff's Office and the Health & Human Services Department, which are at the helm of tackling the opioid epidemic.

In 2023, the Sheriff's Office spent $46,725 of the county's settlement funds, while the Health & Human Services Department spent $27,547.

The county is still in the early stages of allocating and deciding how to spend its initial payment of the funds.

Outagamie County plans to hire full-time employee dedicated to substance use prevention

To help the county assess how to spend the opioid funds, it plans on hiring a community health educator focusing on substance use prevention.

"Once that staff person is hired, part of their initial responsibilities are going to be to do a county-wide needs assessment and put together a comprehensive plan on how the funds should be spent," Rathman said.

Beyond that, the educator would help implement any substance use prevention strategies and educate the public on the risks of opioid use.

The position will be fully funded with the settlement funds up to 10 years with grant opportunities to extend the position beyond that. The position's starting salary is between $62,296 and $65,440.

Outagamie County helps launch opioid use and prevention campaign

In an effort to spread awareness of the dangers of opioid use, Outagamie County joined a regional awareness campaign led by Brown County.

With money from the settlement, Outagamie County will help pay for billboards and public service announcements about opioid addiction.

Sheriff's Office purchases drug testing supplies

This year, the Sheriff's Office spent $46,725 of the funds to purchase opioid testing strips, safety equipment and a portable drug testing device called a TruNarc.

"As we continue to experience increases in opioids in our area we need added availability of testing resources so we can safely identify the narcotics and build criminal cases against the suspects," Lt. Nathan Borman told The Post-Crescent.

Down the line, the department proposed using future settlement funds to pay for two new investigator positions that would join the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group in coordinating the drug enforcement efforts.

Vending machine will offer Narcan and fentanyl testing strips

The county is also looking to install a vending machine that contains fentanyl test strips, nasal Narcan, among other harm reduction and prevention supplies.

With these types of vending machines in high demand, Rathman said it isn't known yet when the county will receive there's.

But money for the vending machine won't come out of the county's settlement payment, instead, it will come from a Wisconsin Department of Health Services grant out of the state's $400 million opioid settlement.

Read about how Grand Chute used opioid settlement money to offer free Narcan kits.

Sophia Voight is a local government and politics reporter with The Post-Crescent. She can be reached with tips and feedback at svoight@postcrescent.com.

CONTINUE YOUR SUPPORT: Thanks to our subscribers for making this coverage possible. Be sure to download our app on the App Store or Google Play. Follow us on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Newsletters

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Here is how Outagamie County will spend $800K to fight opioid epidemic