Board set to review requests for long-awaited opioid settlement funds

By Cameron Montemayor

The first round of more than $2 million in opioid settlement funding is one step closer to going to local organizations working to combat the crisis in St. Joseph and Buchanan County.

The St. Joseph Health Department received 10 applications for opioid settlement funding requests. The six-week window closed on Feb. 29 for city and county organizations to make their pitch.

With the application window now closed, an eight-member review board of experts in various subject matters will be tasked with reviewing applications.

Organizations and agencies will be informed by March 18 if their request has been accepted. The date marks nearly two years since a landmark $26 billion settlement with pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen for their roles in fueling the opioid crisis.

“We want to see lasting improvement, positivity, impact and change in the community and to finally get the opioid settlement funds out there and be able to get some traction in that area. It is really exciting,” said Kendra Bundy, St. Joseph Health Department assistant director and review board member.

A total of $156,000 will be awarded in 2024 and each year thereafter until 2039 as part of the agreement between the city and county. The city will allocate $102,000 while the county is providing $52,000.

“There’s also a smaller chunk of money set aside so that … if a new project or a new idea or a new resource that can benefit the community comes up, we can consider that at any point during the year through 2039. It really gives us some resources that we’re just not used to having,” Bundy said.

Along with Bundy, other members on the board include:

Stephanie Malita, health educator with the St. Joseph Health Department

Tammy Smith-Hinchey, St. Joseph School District health services coordinator

Pat Dillon, chief government and community relations officer with Mosaic Life Care

Capt. Shawn Collie with the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force

Chief Paul Lester with the St. Joseph Police Department

Two additional members with expertise in mental health care and substance use disorder treatment and prevention will be selected at the first meeting to round out the eight-member review board.

The first meeting date is set to be announced next week. Meetings to review and discuss applications are expected to take place at the St. Joseph Health Department or via an online forum.

“These (applications) are really varied and they’re really interesting in the different aspects … I think there are some great options that are going to bring some services and different activities into St. Joseph and Buchanan County,” Bundy said.

The money will help local organizations fight a crisis that has killed 645,000 people in the U.S. since 1999.

New data released in February showed Buchanan County had 28 overdose deaths in 2023, a 33% decrease from the 42 overdose deaths recorded in 2022. More than 2,100 people in Missouri died from overdoses in 2022, with 70% of those deaths attributed to opioids, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

“This is money coming from those being held responsible for a crisis that … not only just our community, but across the country, is in,” Collie said. “And so, I think the city and county governments have done a good job of trying to put this in the hands of those who are seeing it every day.”

According to funding guidelines, 80% of funds will be reserved for local nonprofit groups and support services that focus on opioid treatment, prevention and education.

Funds can be used for one of 13 different funding objectives outlined in the agreement, such as filling gaps between city and county opioid prevention services, addressing unmet substance use prevention needs and supporting sustainable resources for the prevention of substance use disorders.

Organizations that failed to submit a request or miss the cut for funding will have the ability to submit subsequent requests in future funding cycles.

“What we’re hoping to see now is, you know, that good work is being enhanced with this money,” Collie said. “And although this is not tax money, this is still money that, you know, we as a review board need to make sure that we’re holding people accountable.”

The board will perform quarterly reviews of the agencies that receive funding to determine if organizations are meeting their goals. The board will also be required to submit reviews every two years to the city and county outlining the entities, funding amounts and uses.

“I think this is going to be, there may be tough decisions being made, but I think it’s a group that we’ll be able to do that,” Collie said.