SAN ANTONIO -- Bexar County claims to be the epicenter of fighting the opioid crisis with education, prevention and treatment.
- County’s taskforce received $19M
- UT Health San Antonio delegating funds
- Money part of federal program
Tuesday, the county's Joint Opioid Taskforce received more than $19 million. UT Health San Antonio is delegating the money. The $19.3 million will go to distributing Narcan and provide that training across the state and to a pilot project working with the city.
The program is with the San Antonio Fire Department to give follow up visits to overdose survivors along with San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Awareness to provide the recovery coaches.
HELPFUL INFORMATION | Opioid Resources in San Antonio
The funding is part of the State Opioid Response which is a federal program. It is a budget expansion for UT Health San Antonio to continue their efforts since 2014.
"We've been working on this for quite a while and not waiting until this impacts us to the extent in has in other states such as West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio," said Dr. Lisa M. Cleveland of UT Health San Antonio.
With the addition of this funding, $40 million woth of federal grants has been spent over 18 months to fight the opioid crisis in Bexar County.