The health department of Hawaii gets $ 8 million to combat opioid abuse

The Hawaii Department of Health announced today that it had received $ 8 million from the federal government to combat the misuse of opioids in the state.

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The Hawaii Department of Health announced today that it had received $ 8 million from the federal government to combat the misuse of opioids in the state.

The two-year grant is part of more than $ 1 billion in opioid-specific grants, announced last week the US Department of Health and Human Services to help US states fight the national crisis.

"No state is immune to this public health problem," said the state health department, Bruce Anderson, in a press release. "This grant is yet another step forward for Hawaii to implement HHS's comprehensive five-part strategy to combat the misuse of opioids in our islands."

Opiate mortality rates in Hawaii have always been lower than the national rate, according to public health officials. In 2016, there were 77 opioid-related overdose deaths in Hawaii – a rate of 5.2 deaths per 100,000 people, less than half of the national rate of 13.3 deaths per 100,000 population.

But Edward Mersereau, chief of the alcohol and drug addiction division of the state's health department, said Hawaii should not give up.

"In Hawaii, drug overdose deaths account for nearly a quarter of all fatal injuries, including deaths from prescription opioids," he said in a statement. "In Hawaii, we all know a family member or friend who has been affected by drug abuse or addiction, including those who are taking opioid prescribed in accordance with the guidelines for pain relief. Social, economic and health disparities in our state, including access to behavioral health care, also make us particularly vulnerable to the abuse of opioids and other drugs. "

Mersereau said that about 60% of the funding would be spent on prevention programs, while the rest would be used for treatment and recovery initiatives.

Last year and this year, HHS also awarded the Hawaii Health Department a total of $ 4 million from its Opioid Response Grant. The grant was used to develop the Action Plan for the Hawaii Opioid Initiative, a comprehensive strategy released in December to aggressively address the misuse of opioids and other common drugs, such as methamphetamine, in the state.

Initiatives presented in this plan include ways to improve prescribing practices among health care providers, systematic data collection and community-based programs, and public education to prevent opioid abuse, such as the

More information on the six action areas of the Action Plan is available at hawaiiopioid.org.