Three THOT members have been awarded grants from the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council (OAFC). The Council awarded more than 100 grants to hospitals, local mental health authorities, school districts, and other entities responding to the opioid crisis in Texas.
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler
- University Health (Bexar County Hospital District)
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
The funds were made available through the Short-term Community-based Opioid Recovery Effort (CORE) grant opportunity, which allocates the funding to each of the 20 Regional Healthcare Partnerships (RHP) in Texas. The CORE grant opportunity seeks to empower local organizations to address the opioid crisis at the grassroots level. Projects meeting the criteria for council-approved strategies in treatment and coordination of care; prevention and public safety; recovery support services; and workforce development and training are eligible. The funds are to be one-time awards for projects lasting less than one year.
“Our teaching and public hospitals have a long legacy of innovating and leveraging local partnerships to help meet their communities’ needs,” said Maureen Milligan, PhD, president and CEO, Teaching Hospitals of Texas. “The CORE grants represent another opportunity for community-responsive innovation and local collaboration to address the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic.”
“For the first time, the Council has awarded grants to communities in every region of our state,” said Kelly Hancock, acting Comptroller and chair of the OAFC. “We look forward to seeing how these resources will change lives, as local organizations put them to work supporting individuals and families impacted by the opioid crisis across Texas.”
The Texas Legislature formed the OAFC in 2021 to ensure money recovered through the joint efforts of the state and its political subdivisions from statewide opioid settlement agreements is allocated fairly and spent to remediate the opioid crisis using efficient, cost-effective methods. Texas has participated in settlement agreements with different companies including pharmacies, opioid manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies, to resolve legal claims against them for their role in the opioid crisis.
