Bluegrass Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will distribute nearly $3 million to eight Kentucky organizations through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP). As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator McConnell supported funding for RCORP through the federal appropriations process. 

The following organizations each received $300,000 from the RCORP-Overdose Response program to help combat the opioid and substance abuse epidemic in rural areas of Kentucky: 

• Purchase District Health Department based in Paducah, KY
• Kentucky Rural Health Information Technology Network, Inc. in Corbin, KY
• Mountain Comprehensive Care Center in Prestonsburg, KY
• St. Claire Medical Center, Inc. in Morehead, KY
• Kentucky River Foothills Development Council, Inc. in Richmond, KY 

The following organizations in Kentucky received federal funding under the RCORP-Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) program, which provides prevention, treatment, and recovery in communities across the Commonwealth: 

• $500,000 for Kentucky River Community Care, Inc. in Hazard, KY
• $500,000 for Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville, Inc. in Madisonville, KY
• $395,129 for St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood, KY 

“Substance abuse and overdose deaths have spiked dramatically in Kentucky over the past few years, adding renewed urgency to our fight against opioid addiction,” said Senator McConnell. “Today’s funding will support several important community efforts that play a vital role in addressing the opioid crisis across the Commonwealth. Thanks to RCORP, these impactful organizations can continue to help those struggling with substance abuse get the resources they need to reclaim their health and turn their lives around.” 

Original source can be found here.