Gov. Andy Beshear announced the Commonwealth has received a $37.2 million federal grant to support the administration’s ongoing work to prevent overdoses and save lives.
Through the three-year Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services grant, the Kentucky Overdose Response Effort (KORE) will continue to address the overdose crisis by increasing access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services for individuals facing addiction.
The Governor said that, in 2023, KORE-funded programs delivered free treatment and recovery services to over 32,600 people, distributed 96,700 free Narcan – a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses – kits and reached 145,000 youth through school and community-based prevention programs.
“A decrease of nearly 10% in drug overdose deaths last year is something worth celebrating,” Gov. Beshear said. “It says that what we’re doing is working. It says the more people who can get the help they need, the more lives we can save. We are thankful that these federal funds will make sure the good work we’re doing continues and grows.”
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) reports that over the past six years, the federal funding has led to an unprecedented expansion in services addressing opioid and stimulant use at the community level. KORE – along with several federal, state and local agencies – now supports over 160 partnerships statewide, many of which provide FDA-approved medications that reverse opioid overdose and treat opioid use disorder.
“We are grateful for the continued investment from our federal partners in addressing the overdose crisis in Kentucky. This grant ensures we can continue implementing programs that save lives. From this work, we see that treatment works, and recovery is possible,” said CHFS Secretary Eric Friedlander.
“The impact of KORE since its inception in 2017 is incalculable. Across the lives saved, families kept together, dreams realized for education and employment, Team Kentucky is remarkably stronger thanks to the investment of federal partners and vision of our community partners,” said Dr. Katherine Marks, commissioner of the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities.
To date, KORE has built the following partnerships to address the overdose crisis:
• In a network of Regional Prevention Centers , school-aged children will participate in science-backed curriculum that empowers students with social-emotional learning and substance use prevention skills.
• The Kentucky Hospital Association will reduce opioid overprescribing and improve safe opioid use through its oversight of the Statewide Opioid Stewardship initiative. In this program, hospitals and primary care clinics across the state will adopt practices and policies that support appropriate acute and chronic pain management. The association will also support the implementation of a treatment model that provides buprenorphine alongside peer support and linkage to ongoing treatment for individuals seeking services in emergency departments for an opioid- or stimulant-related health complication.
• Hospitals, primary care offices, and specialty clinics will expand access to life-saving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), with a specific focus on increasing access to treatment for individuals who are pregnant or postpartum and those who are justice-involved.
• The Kentucky Pharmacist Association is distributing over 120,000 naloxone kits to individuals who are most likely to witness an overdose. Fentanyl and xylazine test strips will also be distributed.
• Eight Quick Response Teams will provide assertive outreach and engagement to individuals who have experienced an overdose and their social networks.
This new funding award will allow the Commonwealth to continue to build on the program’s successes while also expanding work to support evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery support services to also address stimulant misuse, including for cocaine and methamphetamine.
“With the support of these federal dollars, we will be able to sustain innovative initiatives that provide critical services to individuals struggling with opioid and stimulant use,” KORE Project Director Dr. Caitlyn Hood said. “These initiatives reduce barriers to care for those who are uninsured and underinsured, increase the capacity for emergency departments to provide substance use treatment and linkages to community resources and ensure access to life-saving medications for opioid use disorder in primary care settings. Additionally, our partners provide the necessary supports for long-term recovery.”
The funding formulas for state opioid response awards can be found by clicking here . You can find more information on KORE by clicking here .
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