Brown announces $650,000 for 2 Cincinnati Health Centers for substance abuse services; Pike, Ross County centers also receive funding

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that Cincinnati Health Network and Winton Hills Medical and Health Center in Cincinnati each received $325,000 to expand substance abuse services.

The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Center Program funds made possible by the Affordable Care Act. The awards will help health centers expand the delivery of substance abuse services with a focus on opioid addiction, and could help improve the delivery and integration of medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
 
“Ohio’s community health centers are on the front lines of the opioid crisis, so we must give these clinics the tools and resources they need to combat addiction in their communities,” said Brown. “This supplemental funding will give our health centers the ability to expand substance abuse services for patients in need and integrate medication-assisted treatment into their operations. It’s investments like this that are necessary in order to make any progress in fighting this epidemic, and that’s why Congress must direct more funding to this public health crisis.”
 

Brown recently introduced the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act to help tackle the opioid epidemic from crisis to recovery, including expanding access to MAT. Next week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will markup another bill Brown has introduced – The Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act (TREAT Act), which would also expand access to treatment, including MAT.

Among the other Ohio health centers receiving awards were Hopewell Health Centers, Inc. in Chillicothe, which received an award of $325,000; and Community Action Committee of Pike County in Piketon, which also received $325,000.