Over 4,000 People Could Access Treatment for Opioid Addiction Due to Grant Award to the State

Friday, April 28th, 2023 -- 12:01 PM

(By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) More than 4,000 people could access treatment for opioid addiction through $8 million in grants awarded by state health officials as opioid-related deaths have climbed to record highs.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced the grants Tuesday for 22 counties and three tribal nations. The money comes from $34 million awarded to the state under a federal grant program to address the opioid epidemic in Wisconsin.

Since 2020, Paul Krupski, the agency’s director of opioid initiatives, said they’ve been able to use the funds to support treatment for opioids like heroin and fentanyl in addition to drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.

"This will support the evidence-based approach to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, and that includes all three of the Food and Drug Administration-approved medications, methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone," Krupski said.

The funding will also support behavioral therapy and other recovery supports for treating opioid use disorder. For people addicted to meth or cocaine, the money will be used to connect people to cognitive behavioral therapy and a treatment approach known as the Matrix Model.

That model includes providing therapy within a structured environment and other supports to help individuals recover from drug addiction. Substance abuse skyrocketed as a way for people to cope with stress, anxiety and other issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Krupski said.

He said the pandemic along with the increased presence of fentanyl in the drug supply has played a role in record overdose deaths. State health officials reported a record 1,427 opioid overdose deaths in 2021, according to the most recent data available.

Data on overdose deaths for last year won’t be finalized until this fall. However, Krupski noted national data indicates the number of overdose deaths may be lower than initial predictions, providing hope they may have peaked in 2021.

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