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By Alison Burdo
At least 438 people have died from suspected drug use in 2023 in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Ocean and Salem counties as the opioid epidemic continues to impact coastal towns and rural communities throughout South Jersey.
Each of those counties, as well as 27 of their municipalities, are among the 262 local governments throughout the state that will receive half of the roughly $1 billion coming to New Jersey and its subdivisions over 18 years as part of the national opioid settlement agreement. Disbursement of the settlement money began last year.
Atlantic County, where the suspected drug fatality rate per capita was an estimated 92.5 in 2022, the highest in the state, has appropriated $290,439 of the more that $1,215,827 it received, according to its annual opioid abatement report.
The county’s opioid settlement review committee received six proposals in its initial year and chose two: $22,951 supported expanded use of the county sheriff’s Hope One mobile response unit, and $262,488 helped AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center’s City Campus grow its Bridge Clinic program from three days per week to five. Administrative expenses account for $5,000.
Those programs were selected, county spokesperson Linda Gilmore said, because “the need to provide treatment was identified as a priority.”
Operating out of the hospital emergency room, the Bridge Clinic connects opioid use disorder patients to a case manager and helps enroll them in a treatment program. The Hope One vehicle is deployed throughout the community to transport those suffering from substance use disorder to treatment facilities.
Even though the spending represents less than a quarter of the settlement dollars that Atlantic County has on hand, it is a dramatic uptick in the county’s investment in addressing the opioid epidemic. Last year, the county said it dedicated $14,696 toward opioid prevention programs.
Salem County expended $18,186.51 of the $309,112.48 in settlement funds it has received so far.
It used $1,710 on Narcan boxes and training, placing the medication, which can reverse an opioid overdose, in bars and school buildings. The kits are available to any business in the county, said Victoria Maurizio, director of Salem County’s division of mental health and addiction services.
The remaining dollars were used to support the hiring of a recovery coach, who connects people suffering from opioid use disorder with services that are already available. Between July 1 and Nov. 7, the outreach resulted in 721 contacts.
“Meeting people where they are is an effective way to educate our residents about available resources,” Maurizio said. “Having our recovery coaches in the community, on a consistent basis, allows us to connect with the public.”
But she said there is value in waiting to learn the state’s plan to avoid duplicative spending. “We don’t want to rush to spend funds just to spend funds,” she said.
It’s a sentiment shared by officials in Cape May County, which has yet to appropriate any of the $665,018.02 of its opioid settlement dollars.
“We are really only waiting to make sure our money is used in the most effective way possible,” said Patricia Devaney, director of the county Division of Community and Behavioral Health Services. “What we want to do is build the most effective and efficient system that we can and we’re dependent on state dollars coming into the county to do that and then we will wrap around it.”
Devaney said Cape May County expects to form its advisory council in early 2024 and begin its public outreach campaign shortly after that.
Ocean County, which got $2,563,043.10 in the first year, has also held off on spending.
But that county, like its counterparts in Atlantic and Salem counties, has formed its advisory councils and conducted community outreach to determine the best uses for their settlement dollars.
“With a public health issue of this magnitude, it was vital that the Ocean County Opioid Advisory Council begin its work by offering opportunities for public input, especially the input of the people who are directly affected, and to develop a thoughtful assessment of the community’s needs and a strategic plan,” Jamie Busch, assistant director of the county Department of Human Services, said via email.
Its strategic plan was approved by the county Board of Commissioners in August. Since then, Ocean County has set aside up to $800,000 annually for care management, up to $200,000 annually for substance use prevention and early intervention, and up to $100,000 for innovative substance use programming. Requests for proposals, which were due by Nov. 16, are under review, Busch said.
Officials in Cumberland County did not respond to interview requests, though its annual opioid abatement report showed as of June 30, it has not allocated any of the $414,704.40 it got in the first year.
Still, both county officials and addiction recovery advocates say more collaboration is needed.
“Are we being included in decision making? Only where we really insert ourselves and speak up and show up and keep speaking up and showing up,” Elizabeth Burke Beaty, founder of the nonprofit recovery community organization Sea Change, said during a roundtable event held in late August.
Jerry DelRosso, the Atlantic County administrator who assisted in the oversight of its settlement dollars in the first year, said there are many organizations dedicated to helping those in addiction, but there is not a centralized hub detailing who they are and what they do.
“What we’re trying to do is to get the organizations who deal with these types of clients to try to understand we all need to work together more than we do and more than we say that we do,” he said.