Bluegrass Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with Congressmen Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Hal Rogers (KY-05) announced today the first Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers (CORC) grant awarded to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This $850,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Mountain Comprehensive Care Center in Prestonsburg will allow the Center to provide wrap around substance-use disorder treatment and recovery support services to those most affected by opioid use disorder.

Rep. Guthrie who led the 2018 legislation that established this program and ensured funding for this grant released the following statement with Senator McConnell and Rep. Rogers:

“This is welcomed news that Kentucky received its first Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers grant. I was proud to lead legislation establishing the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Center program five years ago. These centers provide targeted resources to communities most impacted by the overdose crisis, including workforce training, medication assisted treatment services, recovery housing, and peer to peer counseling. The lifesaving services this program provides further shows the importance of reauthorizing the Support for Patients and Communities Act, which I am leading, and includes the reauthorization of the CORCs program,” said Congressman Guthrie.

“Kentucky tragically remains one of the states hardest hit by the opioid epidemic. The good news is care centers across the Commonwealth are constantly stepping up and finding new ways to combat this crisis. I’m happy to see Kentucky receive its first Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Center grant, which funds crucial services to communities devastated by the opioid epidemic,” said Senator McConnell. “As Senate Republican Leader and a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I was proud to leverage my leadership position to secure funding for this important program established in Congressman Guthrie’s legislation. Substance abuse treatment offers a lifeline to countless Kentuckians, and I’ll continue working with Congressmen Guthrie and Rogers to mobilize the federal government to deliver for Kentucky’s fight against addiction.”

“This is a life-saving grant program that is needed now, more than ever before. Last year, more than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, so every investment that we make into recovery programs, workforce training, counseling and other resources could mean the difference between life and death for someone,” said Congressman Rogers, Dean of the House. “It is an honor to work alongside Congressman Guthrie and Senator McConnell on Capitol Hill to support this program. I’m thankful that the Commonwealth’s first award will continue Mountain Comprehensive Care Center’s work in Eastern Kentucky.”

Background:

• Congressman Guthrie’s 2018 Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act was passed as part of the 2018 Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act and was signed into law by President Trump with overwhelming bi-partisan support.
• This bill established a grant program for treatment facilities to offer all FDA-approved treatments for opioid use disorder, as well as to provide residential rehabilitation, recovery housing, and community-based and peer recovery support services.
• Rep. Guthrie recently re-introduced the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Reauthorization Act of 2023 which would reauthorize the grant program through 2028.
  • This critical program provides wrap-around treatment and recovery support services to communities with higher rates of drug overdose deaths per capita by specifically requiring grantees to provide FDA-approved Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), withdrawal management services, counseling services, recovery housing, and workforce training services, among others.
  • This legislation also advances a coordinated approach with a comprehensive set of wrap-around services that not all treatment centers offer to help to treat individuals seeking to overcome their substance use disorder.

Original source can be found here.