Greene county is a fully rural county in upstate new york with a high burden of overdose

In 2021 the county rate of opioid involved overdose deaths was double the upstate new york average. That same year, greene county ranked 2ND of 57 upstate new york counties for overdose deaths involving opioids and IT ranked 1ST for deaths involving heroin. Fentanyl drives the epidemic, with 88% of deaths in the last two years involving fentanyl, often in combination with stimulants, heroin or other substances. Fatality rates are particularly high in the mountain top, a remote region of the catskill mountains. Through category 1C cossup funding, greene county public health will establish data driven opioid and recovery coordination (DDORC) and aim to reduce overdose fatalities, and to decrease sub-county disparities in fatality rates. Specifically, greene county will expand epidemiological surveillance of overdose trends and disparities in overdose volume and assess access and linkage to treatment and recovery resources. Greene county will also expand mat services, focusing on linkage to care for justice-involved people and we will enhance law enforcement and first responder leave behind and diversion programs, as well as other novel programs for first responder overdose response. All of this work will be guided collaboratively by the DDORC, a group of multidisciplinary stakeholders led jointly by public health and public safety. Specific project goals include: 1) utilize real-time overdose and other substance use related data to describe and address overdose risks, barriers and facilitating factors for substance use treatment and recovery, and disparities in accessing substance use related services; 2) increase access to evidence-based substance disorder treatment by expanding mat services available at greene county public health and build linkage to care systems between public health and public safety that specifically target justice-involved individuals; 3) increase coordination between public health and public safety partners through support of law enforcement diversion and overdose response programs and overdose-related EMS services; and 4) implement and convene a datadriven multidisciplinary coordinating body lead by greene county public health with participation from public safety partners and other county and community-based agencies that serve people who use drugs. Greene county public health will coordinate this project in partnership with the greene county sheriffs office and albany medical centers divisions of prehospital care and addiction medicine, sub-recipients, as well as with support from the regional emergency medical organization (REMO).