September 5, 2023

The Barry-Eaton District Health Department (BEDHD) has been selected as a recipient of five-year grant that will bring close to $1 million/year to the district to address/prevent overdoses in the community. The grant was awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) program. The grant represents a transformative opportunity to strengthen ongoing efforts in combatting the overdose crisis and reducing overdose-related harms.

The CDC’s OD2A program plays a vital role in advancing the nation’s response to the opioid epidemic. OD2A supports funded jurisdictions to implement prevention activities and to collect accurate, comprehensive, and timely data on nonfatal and fatal overdoses. This data is used to enhance programs and surveillance efforts. With this grant, Barry and Eaton counties will be able to respond more quickly, effectively, and equitably to residents’ needs, using data to drive action to reduce overdose deaths and related harms.

“We are thrilled to award this grant to the Barry-Eaton District Health Department and support their continued effort to prevent drug overdose and improve the lives of residents,” said CDC Division of Overdose Prevention Director Grant Baldwin, PhD, MPH. “Through the OD2A program, CDC is empowering jurisdictions with the necessary tools and resources to collect, analyze, and use data to inform prevention activities that make a significant impact in communities.”

“BEDHD is grateful for the support of and partnership with the CDC.” said Milea Burgstahler, Planning and Health Promotion Director at BEDHD. “We are proud to share this mission and effort to prevent overdoses and protect the well-being of our community. This grant will make a lasting impact and provide hope to those affected by substance use disorders.”

This grant will allow BEDHD to reduce overdose-related harms by:

• Expanding BEDHD’s Connections Program, which will increase the availability of community health workers and allow for improved identification of and outreach to people in need of care and services for Substance Use Disorder
• Increasing access to harm reduction services, including distribution of naloxone through Health Resource Vending Machines
• Improving partnerships, collaborations, and bidirectional referrals amongst organizations working in overdose prevention
• Improving data sharing and data use to inform overdose prevention and response efforts

BEDHD currently works to reduce overdose-related harms through a Health Resource Vending Machine in the lobby of the BEDHD office in Charlotte (1033 Health Care Dr. Charlotte, MI 48813). The purpose of the Health Resource Vending machine is to provide FREE health resources to the community in a private and easily accessible way, to reduce the harm of opioid overdoses in our district.

More information about OD2A can be found here.