Florida News Straight From the Source
Attorney General Ashley Moody will join the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Tampa District Office for a press conference Friday at 10:00 a.m. in Tampa. The DEA will announce a new program to combat the opioid epidemic in the Tampa Bay area. [Read more…] about Attorney General Moody to Join DEA Announcement on Fighting the Opioid Epidemic
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the federal government to explore the use of telehealth as a cost-efficient way to provide students with substance use disorders – such as an addiction to alcohol or opioids – the professional help they need at their school health clinics.
The legislation – known as the Telehealth for Children’s Access to Services and Treatment Act (TeleCAST Act) – would direct the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to study options to provide students Medicaid-funded telehealth services at their school health centers, especially in rural and underserved areas where the number of available doctors is more scarce.
“The nation’s opioid crisis is devastating our communities,” Nelson said. “Providing our students easy access to the treat these substance use disorders sooner rather than later is just another small step we can take in this ongoing fight against this growing public health emergency.”
Telehealth services allow patients to meet with a doctor via video conferencing or over the phone, instead of requiring them to meet in person.
By using telehealth services, one doctor can be available to students at multiple schools in a single day. It also eliminates the time and expense that often prohibits some rural patients from seeking help from a doctor located miles away.
The bill is cosponsored by Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Tom Carper (D-DE), John Cornyn (R-TX), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Thune (R-SD) and Mark Warner (D-VA).
Here is a copy of the TeleCAST Act.
Governor Rick Scott today hosted a bill signing at the Boca Raton Police Department for HB 21, which was proposed by Governor Scott to combat opioid abuse. This bill will help limit the chance of drug addiction, reduce the ability for dangerous drugs to spread in Florida’s communities and give vulnerable Floridians the support they need. The Governor also highlighted the more than $65 million in the Securing Florida’s Future budget to help combat the national opioid epidemic in Florida.
The more than $65 million to support Florida’s fight against opioids in the Securing Florida’s Future budget includes:
HB 21 continues Florida’s fight against opioids by:
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam issued the following statement today after the release of the Florida Medical Examiners Commission’s Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons annual report, which showed a 22 percent increase in drug-related deaths and a 35 percent increase in opioid-related deaths in 2016 compared to 2015:
“Nearly every Floridian has been impacted by substance abuse in one way or another, and the opioid epidemic continues to claim and destroy lives at an exponential rate. Today’s report shows the grave reality of Florida’s opioid epidemic, and I applaud Governor Scott for declaring a state of emergency in response to this crisis and his leadership in proposing aggressive measures to combat opioid abuse.”
Last week, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) submitted an application to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for the Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction grant. This grant is designed to address the opioid crisis by expanding and enhancing access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services for persons with an opioid use disorder. If awarded, Florida would receive $2 million per year for up to three years.
“We are committed to using every available tool to help those in need as we continue to aggressively fight the national opioid epidemic in Florida,” DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said. “This grant will provide critical funding to obtain additional resources which provide further support to communities in need of vital treatment for individuals and families.”
This grant would supplement the $27 million State Targeted Response Grant received in May to fund opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery support services across the state. Governor Rick Scott signed Executive Order 17-146 on May 3, declaring a statewide Public Health Emergency and directing the immediate draw down of the $27 million in grant funds.
The proposal is aimed to increase the number of individuals receiving MAT, increase the number of individuals receiving integrated care, and increase the number of individuals receiving peer and other recovery support services. These proven methods of treatment will allow thousands of families to receive needed services in their communities. Other goals include decreasing the use of illicit/non-prescribed opioids, increasing the percent of individuals retained in care six months after initiating treatment, and improving social functioning.
Florida is one of the 17 eligible states to apply for the grant. SAMHSA will award grants to up to five states in the fall.
The Florida Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health today announced an update to the implementation of the $27 million federal State Targeted Response the Opioid Crisis Grant. This follows Governor Rick Scott signing Executive Order 17-146 on May 3rd, declaring a statewide Public Health Emergency and directing the immediate draw down of grant funds through the federal State Targeted Response the Opioid Crisis Grant.
“Following Governor Scott’s Executive Order, DCF staff have worked diligently to ensure this important funding is allocated to communities and services are available to individuals as soon as possible,” said DCF Secretary Mike Carroll. “We are hopeful that the services this grant will make available will save and change lives throughout the state, and that the programs it establishes over the next two years will help end the tragic opioid epidemic.”
More than $17 million of the State Targeted Response the Opioid Crisis Grant has been allocated to local communities to provide direct treatment and services to individuals with opioid use disorders. Nearly $3.8 million will go toward expanding Vivitrol treatment in local communities through the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association. A contract amendment is underway to expand this service that is currently provided by FADAA, including filling gaps throughout the state where there is greater need for Vivitrol treatment.
DCF is also in the process of purchasing the first batch of more than 3,600 Naloxone kits to distribute to local treatment centers statewide, as well as to organizations that have direct contact with individuals with opioid use disorders, to provide to people at risk of witnessing or experiencing an overdose. Throughout the next twelve months it is anticipated that more than 15,000 additional Naloxone kits will be purchased and distributed to local treatment centers.
The local grant allocations, which are directed through the Managing Entities, are determined based on each county’s assessed need. These local funds will be distributed monthly and will be used for medication-assisted treatment with methadone and buprenorphine. DCF will complete meetings with the seven Managing Entities this week to review grant implementation expectations. Based on Executive Order 17-146 and the initial distribution of funds to the Managing Entities, services to individuals will be available through local providers by June 1. More information on these Managing Entities and their allocation distribution in available in the table below.
Additionally, as part of the grant, behavioral health consultants and peer specialists will be hired to support all six DCF regions. Consultants will work directly with child protective investigators to support investigatory activity that relates to caregivers with opioid use disorders. Peer specialists will assist local providers with quality improvement initiatives related to developing a recovery-oriented system of care. The advertisements, available via jobs.myflorida.com, close this week.
Attorney General Pam Bondi today thanks Florida lawmakers for passing legislation that will bolster continued efforts to combat the national opioid epidemic in Florida. Today, the Senate voted in favor of HB 477. This legislation is a top priority for Attorney General Bondi, and now, it will go before Governor Rick Scott.
“I want to thank sponsors Representative Jim Boyd and Senator Greg Steube, and each member of the House and Senate that supported this important legislation. Fentanyl is a dangerous synthetic opioid that is being mixed with heroin and other drugs—often with deadly consequences,” said Attorney General Bondi. “This legislation has been my top priority this session because it gives us the tools we need to combat the trafficking of these deadly substances.”
“Since May of 2016, I’ve worked relentless alongside the Attorney General and state Law Enforcement to aggressively eradicate these purveyors of poison who have preyed upon the weak for too long. As a member of the Florida House and constituent of the epicenter of the opioid crisis, I’ve seen community devastation first hand. It has been an honor to fight for the people of our state, and this bill sends a clear message that opioid abuse will no longer be tolerated,” said Representative Boyd.
“This legislation will serve as a much-needed step forward in tackling the opioid epidemic. I applaud my colleagues in the legislature for recognizing the magnitude of this issue that has devastated far too many families across our state,” said Senator Steube.
This legislation adds fentanyl and its derivatives to Florida’s drug trafficking statute and gives law enforcement and state prosecutors the tools they need to investigate and prosecute drug traffickers selling the deadly substances. Fentanyl is a synthetic substance 50 times more potent than morphine. It is being mixed with other drugs, sold as heroin or even a pill—often resulting in the death of unsuspecting users.
The legislation also adds U-47700 to the list of Schedule 1 controlled substances. In September last year, Attorney General Bondi signed an emergency rule outlawing the synthetic drug after it was identified in multiple deaths throughout the state. This emergency action temporarily outlawed the dangerous drug and the legislation passed today will ban the deadly substance permanently.
Since taking office, Attorney General Bondi has issued executive orders and worked with state lawmakers to ban more than a hundred chemical compounds used to produce deadly synthetic drugs. Last session, Attorney General Bondi also helped pass legislation to better control synthetic drugs through a drug classification system.
Governor Rick Scott signed executive order 17-146 directing the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to immediately begin drawing down federal grant funds totaling more than $27 million to fund opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery support services across the state.
In 2015, opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 deaths nationwide; and nearly 3,900 deaths in Florida. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant will provide Florida with $27,150,403 in federal funding annually for two years for a total of more than $54 million.
“I have had the opportunity to travel the state and hear directly from recovering addicts, parents who have lost their children and professionals on the front lines of this epidemic who have been working tirelessly to help those struggling in their own communities,” Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Mike Carroll said. “I am grateful for Governor Scott’s leadership, allowing the department to immediately begin drawing down on these funds which will provide much needed resources to communities across the state.”
Florida was awarded this grant through the 21st Century Cures Act’s State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants, by selecting evidence-based strategies proven to reduce fatal overdoses and aid in individual recovery. The grant will fund four major components to help communities fight the opioid epidemic, including medication-assisted treatment, overdose prevention through Naloxone distribution, hospital-based and child welfare projects, and school-based prevention services in rural counties.
Of the $27 million awarded for this year of the grant, more than $17 million will be allocated directly to communities through the Managing Entities to fund medication-assisted treatment, specifically methadone and buprenorphine, coupled with counseling for indigent, uninsured, and underinsured individuals with opioid use disorders. These funds will be regionally distributed based on the number of opioid-caused deaths and the estimated number of nonmedical prescription opioid and heroin users.
Nearly $3.8 million will be provided to the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association to enhance their statewide medication-assisted treatment program using Vivitrol®. The grant will also fund Naloxone kits and overdose recognition and response training, behavioral health consultants to support child protection staff, hospital-based care coordination pilots, peer mentoring programs, and training opportunities for child welfare, court, and peer support staff.
DCF is working with the Managing Entities and behavioral health community partners to implement the services outlined in the grant as soon as possible. Community providers must be available and ready to begin providing services within 120 days of the grant award.
Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declaring a national opioid epidemic today, Governor Rick Scott signed Executive Order 17-146 directing a Public Health Emergency across the state. By signing the Emergency Order, it will allow the state to immediately draw down more than $27 million in federal grant funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Opioid State Targeted Response Grant which was awarded to Florida on April 21 to provide prevention, treatment and recovery support services. Without the order, it would have taken months for the state to distribute these funds to local communities. In addition to declaring a Public Health Emergency, Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip will issue a standing order for Naloxen, an emergency treatment for opioid overdose. This will ensure first responders have immediate access to this lifesaving drug to respond to opioid overdoses.
Governor Scott said, “Today, I issued an executive order which allows the state to immediately draw down more than $27 million in federal grant funding which will immediately be distributed to communities across the state to deal with the opioid epidemic. HHS Secretary Dr. Tom Price awarded the Opioid State Targeted Response Grant to Florida and I want to thank the Trump Administration for their focus on this national epidemic. I have also directed State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip to declare a Public Health Emergency and issue a standing order for Naloxone in response to the opioid epidemic in Florida.
“Last month, I directed the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to meet with communities in Palm Beach, Manatee, Duval and Orange Counties to identify additional strategies to fight the rising opioid usage cases in Florida. They have gotten a lot of feedback this week and we will continue to look at additional ways we can fight this national epidemic which has taken the lives of many Floridians.
“I know firsthand how heartbreaking substance abuse can be to a family because it impacted my own family growing up. The individuals struggling with drug use are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends and each tragic case leaves loved ones searching for answers and praying for help. Families across our nation are fighting the opioid epidemic and Florida is going to do everything possible to help our communities.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “This declaration will help strengthen our continued efforts to combat the national opioid epidemic claiming lives in Florida by providing additional funding to secure prevention, treatment and recovery support services. I want to thank Governor Rick Scott for his continued partnership in combating drug abuse in our state; from shutting down pill mills to outlawing deadly synthetic drugs, Governor Scott has long supported efforts by my office and law enforcement to raise awareness, stop drug abuse and save lives.”
See the Executive Order and Public Health Emergency HERE.
Pam Bondi: “If you take one of these pills, you could be addicted for life, or drop dead because you do not know what is in them.”
The Florida Channel
April 11, 2017
To watch the full press conference, click here.
