CDC awards Oregon $3 million to fight opioid epidemic
As part of its continued efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division more than $3 million to help advance understanding and improve prevention and response activities regarding the opioid crisis, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Tuesday.
The funding will improve surveillance of the epidemic by implementing new tactics to collect more comprehensive and timelier data. The high-quality data collected will allow for improved prevention methods and response efforts.
“Combating the opioid crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck approach,” Walden said. “This crisis has touched every inch of the Second District, of Oregon, and of our entire country. I am glad that the CDC is working hard to combat this epidemic and providing Oregon with the tools we need to put an end to this.”
“This grant in particular dovetails with specific provisions the SUPPORT Act, a bill I authored to tackle the opioid crisis that was signed into law last year. The continued efforts we see from the CDC combined with other federal funding (like the grants HHS awarded Oregon last week), our hardworking medical professionals and law enforcement on the front lines of the crisis, and the support from the Administration and community members brings welcomed progress as we strive to win this battle against opioid substance use disorder.”
The CDC’s announcement comes just days after the Department of Health and Human Services awarded Oregon health centers $4.5 million to combat the opioid crisis and an additional $1 million for the Oregon Washington Health Network in Eastern Oregon.
Walden has been one of the nation’s leaders in combating the opioid crisis, working to pass historic legislation to combat opioid addiction, and investigating bad actors who are enabling the crisis to spread.