Nearly 20 community health centers will receive funds from a federal grant to treat substance abuse.
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith announced that 18 community health centers throughout Mississippi will split just over $5 million in federal funding to implement treatments for opioid and substance abuse.
The Expanding Access to Quality Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Services (SUD-MH) grant awards will go to community health centers in Ashland, Biloxi, Canton, Clarksdale, Fayette, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Laurel, Lexington, Mantachie, Meridian, Mound Bayou, Pearl, Port Gibson, Sebastopol, Shubuta, and Smithville.
“Opioid addiction and the problems stemming from substance abuse are a growing problem in Mississippi. These grants are part of a broader approach to fight not just the crime associated with opioid trafficking, but also the very personal toll these drugs take individuals and families,” Hyde-Smith said.
Recent studies show that the majority of Mississippi’s overdose deaths in 2017 were opioid-related. Also, there were around 20,000 drug-related arrests last year.
The awards to Mississippi are part of more than 1,200 grants nationwide awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The SUD-MH grants are intended to support evidence-based strategies to treat substance use disorders.
The following 14 community health clinics in Mississippi will each receive $285,000:
- North Mississippi Primary Health Care, Inc., Ashland
- G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center, Inc., Canton
- Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center, Inc., Clarksdale
- Jefferson Comprehensive Health Center, Inc., Fayette
- Central Mississippi Civic Improvement Association, Inc., Jackson
- Central Mississippi Health Services, Inc., Jackson
- Family Health Center, Inc. Laurel
- Dr. Arenia C. Mallory Community Health Center, Inc., Lexington
- Greater Meridian Health Clinic, Inc., Meridian
- Delta Health Center, Inc., Mound Bayou
- Family Health Care Clinic, Inc., Pearl
- East Central Mississippi Health Care, Inc., Sebastopol
- Outreach Health Services, Inc., Shubuta
- Access Family Health Services, Inc., Smithville
Other awards include:
- Southeast Mississippi Rural Health, Inc., Hattiesburg – $282,660
- Claiborne County Family Health Center, Port Gibson – $282,235
- Coastal Family Health Center, Inc. Biloxi – $280,379
- Mantachie Rural Health Care, Inc., Mantachie – $195,220
Hyde-Smith on Monday supported Senate passage of the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, which is a compilation of opioid-related bills.
Related: U.S. Senators pass opioid legislation
The bill includes provisions of the Hyde-Smith cosponsored e-Treat Act to expand the use of telehealth services for opioid use disorder treatment.
