Grant could help curb opioid overdoses

In an effort to stem the tide of drug overdoses in the Silver State, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced this month that his office has received a $698,000 grant for what’s known as the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP).

As stated in a news release on Ford’s website, the competitive grant was awarded by the U.S Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program.

ODMAP, according to the news release, is an information technology platform that allows first responders in Nevada to report suspected pre-hospital drug overdoses in real time.

Participating agencies in Nye County include The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.

Sharing information

ODMAP was created by the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area to detect, track and log overdoses to facilitate real time drug overdose information sharing between law enforcement agencies fire departments, and emergency medical services, the release stated.

“The opioid crisis hit Nevada hard, and my office is actively working to hold responsible parties accountable and prevent future drug overdoses in our communities,” said AG Ford. “ODMAP is one of the most useful technologies at our disposal to evaluate overdose spikes and trends, and to intervene when necessary. I encourage all local agencies committed to public health and safety to take advantage of this unique funding opportunity.”

In championing Ford’s investment regarding the health and safety of all Nevadans, the grant will support a statewide adoption of ODMAP, as well as buttress the development of highly coordinated public safety, behavioral health and public health responses to the data, focusing on “hot spots” and trends of concern, the release stated.

Cross-sector partnerships

As a result of the grant, the Office of the Nevada Attorney General is creating a funding opportunity to support two purpose areas.

The first will focus on cross-sector partnerships, where local communities can make meaningful use of the data collected through ODMAP.

The second purpose area of the funding is designed to establish an Application Programming Interface (API), which is a popular method for stakeholder agencies to contribute data without creating additional manual reporting or processes.

The API also allows for data integration by connecting with the agency or state’s Record Management Software (RMS), to ODMAP.

An API allows for the direct, automated integration of the two systems.

Funding, the release noted, will support the contribution of overdose data by allowing for data integration by connecting Nevada Emergency Medical Services’ (EMS) Record Management Software to ODMAP, which supports the near real-time transfer of overdose data from the time the information is entered into the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to the automatic population of ODMAP.

Deciphering data

Additionally, the funding will aid local communities to use the collected data to intervene and target specific geographic areas, or high risk individuals.

Local agencies and groups pursuing public safety, public health, medical and prevention services are encouraged to apply for funding.

Those that receive funding are expected to develop implementation plans for responding to the data collected in ODMAP, to include identifying the frequency and format of data sharing, defining spikes and hot spots, as well as identifying appropriate interventions by public safety, behavioral health and public health partners.

Application deadline

Agencies interested in applying for funding must submit a completed application by Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 by 5:00 p.m. PST.

Funding is for the period of March 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. The total available funding is $443,000.

The Office of Nevada Attorney General anticipates making approximately 5-7 awards in the range of $50,000-$100,000 each for Purpose Area 1 and one award in the range of $50,000-$100,000 for Purpose Area 2.

For a copy of the solicitation and application packet or for more information, logon to ag.nv.gov/grants/grants/ or contact Grants Manager, Debbie Tanaka, at DTanaka@ag.nv.gov.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes