Health Department

Last year, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) launched a resource meant to help local health departments (LHD) prevent or mitigate potentially traumatic events, known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Capacity Assessment Tool (SPACECAT) allows LHDs to make an internal assessment of their capacity to address and prevent a still-growing public health issue.

The webinar held by NASTAD on October 26, 2022, 4:00-5:30pm featured a dynamic discussion on integrating harm reduction principles and practices, including naloxone distribution, safe disposal, and harm reduction supply access, within the community health care setting. Health centers across the country that offer these services as part of comprehensive care shared their experiences and the ways that service expansion can contribute to engagement and care access.

Since 1999, an estimated 841,000 people in the U.S. have died from a drug overdose. Beginning in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly exacerbated the overdose crisis resulting in a 30% increase in 2020 compared to 2019. The majority of overdose deaths in the U.S. involve opioids, including nearly 71% of all overdose deaths in 2019.3 Despite high rates of overdose across the nation, overdose and overdose death are preventable. However, people at risk of overdose often face significant challenges accessing treatment and navigating systems of care. Local and state health departments are well-suited to lead and support efforts to prevent and respond to overdose and to link people to evidence-based treatment and services. Peer support services (PSS) are a valuable component of a growing number of overdose response and linkage to care initiatives that can be implemented and supported by local and state health departments.

In spring 2021, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors notified syringe services programs (SSPs) and partners that there would be significant interruptions in the supply of injectable/intramuscular (IM) naloxone. Currently, production and distribution delays are expected to last until fall 2021. This will specifically affect SSPs because IM naloxone is the most affordable formulation, and therefore is most commonly utilized by programs that distribute large volumes of naloxone to reduce fatal overdose rates. 

This final rule makes changes to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) regulations governing the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records. These changes were prompted by the need to continue aligning the regulations with advances in the U.S. health care delivery system, while retaining important privacy protections for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs).

The Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America is an initiative launched by the federal government with the aim of addressing the HIV epidemic in the United States. The initiative was announced by President Trump during the State of the Union address in February 2019 and aims to reduce new HIV infections by 75% in five years and by 90% in ten years by focusing first on the hardest hit areas of the country.