County helps fund second year of opioid education

Union County Board of Supervisors agreed Monday to fund the second year of an opioid education program for area school students, paying up to $54,734.

Before the action, the board heard reviews of the first year of the program from Executive Director of Crossroads Brittany Palmer and Jess Putter. Funding stems from a 2021 legal settlement with opoioid makers and distributors. In exchange for the funds, participating states, counties and cities would have to drop any related lawsuits and agree not to sue them in the future for the opioid epidemic.

At that time, at least 45 states have signed on or signaled intent to do so, and at least 4,012 counties and cities have also confirmed participation, plaintiffs’ attorneys said. Union County Public Health Director Zack Woods met with supervisors discussing how to spend the funds. Money had to be used for educational prevention programs, treatment programs or something related to opioid addiction. Schools in Creston, Nodaway Valley in Greenfield and Southwest Valley in Corning agreed to be sites for the courses.

East Union in Afton will be included in year two. Putter said East Union is interested in informing grade-school students about safe habits and what to look for in certain situations.

“The first year was great,” Putter said reviewing results.

Participating students were surveyed before and after the course. Putter said the pre-course surveys showed 30% of the students were not expecting to finish high school. Survey results were inclusive, not school-specific. After the course, the same question was asked and 100% of the results showed students plan to finish high school.

Another question was if students were planning to attend college after high school. Before the courses, 57% of the students were unsure if they would attend. After the course, the number dropped to 42%.

“So they got something out of the program,” Putter said. She added participating students showed increased attendance and grades while taking the course.

In late 2021, the county submitted a claim in a settlement the federal government reached with makers of opioids, the painkilling, prescription drug that has caused many overdoses and addictions. The county received $77,000, which was more than initially expected.

According to the Associated Press, the three drug distributors — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson agreed in July 2021 to pay the combined $26 billion to resolve thousands of state and local government lawsuits. But if the defendants say there’s a lack of participation by states and local jurisdictions, it could cause them to back away from the landmark agreement or eventually reduce the settlement amount.

The $26 billion from three drug distributors and a pharmaceutical manufacturer would address damage wrought by opioids, which the federal government declared in 2017 was a public health emergency.

In other county news...

Supervisors heard a proposal from Brandon Robertson of TRT Studio for his company to manage the county’s information technology. The Creston based company would monitor the county’s computer system to prevent ransomware and other forms of cyber threats to the county. He said ransomware attacks are increasing. That is when a person damages, or takes control of, a computer system and demands money to let the county regain control.

Supervisors did not take any action. Supervisors agreed to further research the proposal to see what county systems TRT Studio could review considering the county’s relation with various state departments. Robertson told the supervisors his company does not work with any county but has worked with Creston companies.