Tri-County Board Commits Funds for Residential Opiate Treatment

At its regular meeting January 15 the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services approved a strategic plan to guide the Board through 2016 and beyond. Effective immediately, the plan outlines key activities for Board directors and staff to plan, fund, monitor, and evaluate mental health and recovery services in Darke, Miami and Shelby counties.

Executive Director Mark McDaniel thanked the Board, staff and guests in attendance for their input on the plan. “We are pleased with how the goals turned out,” McDaniel said. “We received quite a bit of feedback, and were able to match that feedback to other things going on” at the local, state and federal levels.

Among the key points in the plan is the development of a one-stop shop concept, bringing together a spectrum of behavioral health services in one location. That process began in earnest in December with the Board’s purchase of five acres of land on County Road 25-A north of Troy, and took another step forward by retaining Steven Kopecky, Director of Operations – Program Services of Goodwill-Easter Seals Miami Valley, to facilitate the process of determining what services will be located at the one-stop shop.

In other action taken in line with the Strategic Plan, the Board committed $100,000 through June 30 to purchase residential treatment for opioid and other substance addiction at Nova Behavioral Health in Dayton. The action is in accordance with the Board’s goal to expand the array of addiction services available. “An average length of stay is 28-30 days,” McDaniel said, “and at the average rate in the agreement with Nova, that works out to about 20 people. It just barely begins to scratch the surface of the need, but it’s a start.” McDaniel said Board staff is developing a referral protocol for the program.

Prevention and treatment of opioid abuse and addiction is gaining significant attention from Ohio’s law enforcement agencies and legislators. McDaniel reported that as many as 11 bills have been introduced in recent weeks to address opioids from a wide variety of perspectives, from prescription screening databases to disposal protocols for hospices and other end-of-life caretakers to first responders. One bill in particular, HB 369, introduced by Rep. Robert Sprague (R-Findlay) of the 83rd House District, would if enacted create funding for the purchase of an array of services related to opioid abuse.

The Strategic Plan is available for download from the Board’s website, www.mdsadamhs.mh.state.oh.us or from the Board’s office, 1100 Wayne St, Suite 4000, Troy. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for February 19 at the Board offices.