Press Releases
07/10/2016
Gov. Malloy: Local Health Districts Receive Grants Over the Next Three Years to Combat Opioid-Related Overdoses
Health Districts in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, North Haven, and Waterbury Receive Funds
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino today announced that six local health departments/districts (LHDs) will each receive $30,000 during each of the next three years to further expand efforts combating the opioid epidemic. The funding is being distributed as part of a federal grant the state received from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to tackle opioid-related overdoses.
"This is a devastating trend with prescription painkiller and heroin overdoses that is impacting so many communities across our country. Connecticut is not immune. At the state level, we are continuing to build upon our efforts to prevent and fight addition. It's too important - lives are at stake," Governor Malloy said. "We are working closely with our local, state, and federal partners and will continue to ensure that those that need help get it. We are pleased to be able to deliver on these grants."
"We look forward to working with our local partners to address the issue of opioid and prescription drug abuse in our communities," Commissioner Pino said. "Connecticut has been at the forefront of combatting the epidemic of prescription drug and heroin abuse, and this grant from the CDC allows us to stay on the cutting edge of this fight."
Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services (DMHAS) Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon said, "These grant funds will provide another tool to help us to fight the opioid epidemic. They are being targeted to areas which have great need. This collaboration with local health districts will support the efforts of the Alcohol and Drug Policy Council as we work to address this crisis."
The grants will help each of the six districts implement at the community level some of the recommended activities that are anticipated to be released in a strategic plan that Governor Malloy announced was being developed in partnership between his office, DPH, DMHAS, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Consumer Protection, the Yale School of Medicine, and Connecticut's insurance carriers. Lead by Dr. David Fiellin of Yale, this effort is being shaped by addiction experts and state agency leaders, and will include input from local and national experts, as well as the general public.
The six LHDs receiving the funding include:
- Bridgeport LHD
- Hartford LHD
- Ledge Light Health District (New London)
- New Haven LHD
- Quinnipiack Valley Health District (North Haven)
- Waterbury LHD
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