Portman Announces Three More CARA Grants for Addiction Treatment Now Up & Running
Press Release
U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) today announced that Ohio is eligible to receive funding for addiction treatment services under three new grant programs authorized as part of his bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA) -- which President Obama signed into law last year. He issued the following statement:
"In 2015, drug overdoses took the life of one Ohioan every three hours. Sadly, we have strong reasons to believe that it's only getting worse, not better. Our state is in a crisis, and we need help. That's why these new grants authorized by CARA, legislation I authored last year, are so important to Ohio. As we provide more resources to address this issue, Ohioans will have better access to addiction treatment and the life-saving overdose-reversing drug naloxone. Today we're taking another important step to finally turning the tide of this epidemic."
NOTE: The Department of Health & Human Services' (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for three new CARA grant programs. They include:
Medication-Assisted Treatment and Prescription Drugs Opioid Addiction: Up to $28 million will be given to five grantees in order to increase access of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Medication-assisted treatment combines behavioral therapy and FDA-approved medication like Vivitrol, and has proven to be very effective.
First Responders: Up to $41.7 million will be given over four years to approximately 30 grantees to train and provide first responders with naloxone, a miracle drug that can actually reverse the effects of an overdose within seconds, saving a life.
Improving Access to Overdose Treatment: Up to $1 million will be given over five years to approximately four grantees to expand availability to overdose reversal medications like naloxone in healthcare settings and establish protocols to connect patients who have experienced a drug overdose with appropriate treatment.
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