Pennsylvania is spending $3.2 million to increase efforts to prevent drug-related overdoses

The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced more than $3.2 million in investments to combat the drug-related overdose epidemic through 13 organizations that will help residents connect with the care they need need, such as and educational services.

“Many overdoses are preventable or reversible. The organizations receiving these funds will provide services and resources to prevent and reverse overdoses and ultimately save the lives of Pennsylvanians,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen.

Funding is provided by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) through the Overdose Data to Action in States collaborative agreement to expand drug-related overdose surveillance and prevention over five years.

These grants are just the latest effort in the Shapiro Administration's whole-of-government approach to combating the overdose crisis, with a focus on directly engaging people with substance use disorders to prevent overdoses and provide accessible treatment. The following programs receive funding distributed through the Department's Office of Drug Surveillance and Abuse Prevention (ODSMP).

Pennsylvania Substance Use Navigation Program (PA-SUN) grantees will implement health system-wide capacity to screen, diagnose, support treatment of opioid use disorder and stimulant use disorder, and support recovery.

The goal of this funding is to support linking the emergency department to care provided by multidisciplinary teams (including navigators who guide people through the health care system), improving universal screening for substance use disorders in patients presenting to the emergency department for other reasons , and to identify new ways to engage and connect patients to care.

Total prize amounts:

• Allegheny-Singer Research Institute (Allegheny County): $301,470.26
• Geisinger Clinic (Lackawanna County): $315,139.97
• Temple University Hospital (Philadelphia County): $323,579.59
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Allegheny County): $324,997.74

Organizations focused on harm reduction will expand drug-related overdose education and naloxone distribution programs, and use navigators to connect people who use drugs with services – including overdose prevention and reversal tools such as test strips and naloxone – treatment options and drug control devices.

This funding focuses on caring for people most at risk of experiencing or witnessing an overdose and supporting greater capacity for harm reduction organizations to connect people to medical care.

Total prize amounts:

• AIDS Care Group (Delaware County): $306,000.00
• Drexel University (Philadelphia County): $303,760.67
• Lancaster Harm Reduction Project (Lancaster County): $266,859.81
• Lehigh Valley Hospital (Lehigh County): $288,248.09

Community-based organizations will work to connect individuals in their community with overdose and substance abuse prevention services. For example, a community-based organization will prioritize outreach activities for Black men because local overdose trends show higher overdose rates in this group.

Funding will build capacity in communities to connect and stay connected to services for people with substance use disorders, while integrating health equity and stigma. Organizations may also use funds to establish post-overdose outreach teams to contact individuals within 72 hours of a suspected overdose and/or to develop case management systems to assist individuals in managing the overdose Support processes through which they can access medical care.

Total prize amounts:

• Community Men (Erie County): $310,650.20
• Public Health Management Corporation (Philadelphia County): $312,500.00

Additional funding in this category will be announced at a later date.

The ODSMP, in collaboration with the DOH Bureau of Laboratories (BOL), has launched a new overdose biosurveillance program to improve surveillance of suspected accidental emergency department visits related to overdoses in Pennsylvania.

The program aims to identify new and novel substances entering the drug supply, analyze comprehensive toxicology data on drugs that contribute to non-fatal overdoses, and develop data-driven response strategies.

Participating health systems identify, store, and ship leftover biological samples from suspected accidental overdoses to the DOH BOL for toxicology testing.

Findings from this program will enable stakeholders – including local public health practitioners, harm reduction partners, and health care providers – to better understand the drug supply in Pennsylvania, along with social determinants and/or physical health conditions that place individuals at disproportionate risk for drug use-related fatalities Overdose.

Participating health systems will each receive up to $50,000 to cover costs associated with this program:

• Penn State Health (Dauphin County)
• Temple University Hospital (Philadelphia County)
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Allegheny County)