At the October 5 Mineral County Commission meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to establish an Opioid Settlement Fund and identify a stakeholder group about how those funds would be used.
The county received $130,000 to date for the fund, and more is expected to come into the county. District Attorney Jaren Stanton came up with a list of candidates who would be appropriate for the stakeholder group to create a proposed plan about how the funds would be allocated.
A few of the members include Community Health Nurse Tamiya Ferguson, Community Health Officer Dr. Tedd McDonald, Community Chest Representative Sara Dillard, MC Grant Administrator Alyssa Burke, Tribal Member Amber Torres, Undersheriff Bill Ferguson, and Commissioner Cassie Hall to represent the health district.
“The Board of Mineral County Commissioners nominated a group of community members, County employees, and health professionals to generate a needs assessment and create a plan to address opioid prevention, dependency, and treatment within Mineral County. Since that time, these stakeholders have been working to gather data to complete the assessment and the plan. The work is ongoing and will be presented to the Board of Mineral County Commissioners when complete,” Mineral County District Attorney Jaren Stanton said.
The formation of this committee comes after a large settlement the state received to fight the opioid epidemic prevalent in the United States. On January 4, 2022, Attorney General Aaron Ford announced that Nevada would join the two opioid settlements to receive $285.2 million in the fight against the opioid epidemic. The monies come from a variety of sources, including opioid manufacturer such as Johnson & Johnson and its US-based subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies along with a grant from the US Department of Justice to increase access to addiction mitigation and health programs in rural areas.
This also comes after Governor Steve Sisolak signed Senate Bill 390 (S.B. 390) into law, creating the Fund for Resilient Nevada that directs monies to evidence-based programs through the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. The law established in early 2021 creates a mechanism for the counties, cities, and the state to work together in developing regional needs, assessments, and plans that maximize the use of the money from recoveries.
There was also a nationwide $26 billion opioid settlement from the three largest opioid distributors, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen. Nevada has joined in the settlement, receiving $231,679,409 over the next 18 years.
“Entering into this settlement means that Nevada will start receiving funds as early as the first quarter of 2022 to begin funding programs to fight the opioids epidemic throughout the entire state,” said AG Ford. “There is no question that the opioid epidemic has devastated Nevada and money is needed now to address comprehensive statewide remediation.”
The $5.75million grant monies received from the Department of Justice is specifically earmarked to go towards rural areas to help combat the crisis within Nevada as well.
“When speaking with rural and frontier law enforcement and community leaders, I often hear how mental health and addiction continue to wreck families and affect public safety. I am proud that our Office obtained this grant so that we can better support mental health services and ease the burden on the criminal justice system across Nevada.
“Our team has worked diligently to get Nevada the resources we must have to help Nevadans in need in one of the epidemic’s hardest-hit states, and to obtain justice from many opioid manufacturers and distributors. While no settlement will bring back those lost to opioids, these funds will be used to prevent further loss of life and help heal Nevada’s families,” AG Ford stated early this year when the settlement was announced.
At its October 19 meeting, Jaren Stanton also asked the Mineral County commissioners to enter into a settlement with American Drug Stores, LLC in the amount of $1.5 million to be distributed via the One Nevada Agreement on Allocation of Opioid Recoveries.
