ALBANY — Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy and the Albany County Legislature last week announced the county is investing over $1.5 million in opioid settlement funds into a series of new initiatives and staff positions to expand addiction prevention, education, treatment, and recovery services to combat the opioid crisis.
These funds are aimed at making a meaningful difference in the community, improving people’s lives and helping to break the cycle of addiction, according to McCoy.
- Albany County Department of Health – $619,402
- The Albany County Department of Health will use funding to increase public prevention campaigns, improve data collection and management, expand opioid crisis response staffing, increase harm reduction resources (such as naloxone housing units and equipment), and enhance connection of at-risk persons to treatment (including post-event response kit supplies).
- Will provide overdose spike alerts that will pair with the coroner’s data system, allowing the county to identify fatal overdoses faster and respond to them through the Mobile Outreach Treatment Overdose Response Unit (MOTOR) faster and more efficiently.
Albany County Department of Mental Health – $436,240
- The Albany County Department of Mental Health will use funds to add a part-time nurse practitioner for MOUD (medication for opioid use disorder) induction treatment.
- The department also plans on expanding services provided by the Mobile Outreach Treatment Overdose Response Unit (MOTOR). Launched in 2019, MOTOR operates as a mobile clinic, providing rapid crisis intervention, harm reduction, and support through peer specialists and counselors. The program responds to overdose referrals, conducts follow-ups, and ensures immediate linkage to care, aiming to reduce overdoses and improve health outcomes.
- To enhance its impact, MOTOR will expand with a second team, extend service hours, and reach underserved areas. Two new electric mobile office vans will effectively double outreach and service delivery. The initiative also raises awareness through community events and distributes Naloxone and wound care kits to support prevention efforts. These kits will include lifesaving NARCAN as well as supplies to prevent infection.
- Albany County Crime Victim and Sexual Violence Center – $200,000
- The Albany County Crime Victim and Sexual Violence Center will be hiring additional staff to promote opioid use disorder education and prevention throughout the community. The center will also provide education regarding how a trauma history can contribute to the use/misuse of substances to self-medicate following a traumatic experience and provide linkages to CVSVC services to address trauma that occurred as the result of a crime.
- Will target youth and young adults between the ages of ten and twenty-four years as well as family members and community networks to provide education using a harm reduction framework.
- Albany County Coroners’ Office – $260,400
- The Coroner’s Office will utilize funding for a new data management system to improve data collection, organization and case management. The Albany County Coroners’ Office will also be adding an additional staff member to their office to facilitate the influx of cases associated with the opioid crisis and improve workflow.
- his will result in more comprehensive data collection, as well as tracking of opioid-related deaths within Albany County.
In addition to these county-run opioid settlement projects, the Albany County Department of Probation is now certified to participate in the NYS ORS Leave-Behind Naloxone (LBN) program. This program aims to reduce opioid overdose deaths by providing naloxone kits to probationers at risk, their families, or other bystanders, ensuring they have the means to intervene in the event of an overdose. This non-stigmatizing approach will help reduce future overdoses and ease the burden on first responders.
The number of overdose deaths in Albany County has been decreasing in recent years. As of Dec. 7, there were 83 overdose deaths recorded and current projections predict the final number will not exceed 85. That is compared to 126 deaths in 2023, and 131 deaths in 2022.
“Our work addressing addiction and the opioid crisis has never been more important than it is right now,” McCoy said. “For the first time we are seeing the number of overdose deaths trend downward with a 33% decrease in overdose deaths in 2024 compared to 2023. While this progress is a step in the right direction, it is also a call to action. We must continue to use every tool at our disposal and take a comprehensive approach to tackle this problem head-on. With the expansion of these services, I am confident that we can continue to make meaningful progress.”
Albany County Legislature Chairwoman Joanne Cunningham said the funds will be well spent.
“Our county departments directly serve residents affected by the opioid crisis and suffering from addiction,” Cunningham said. “Investing in these programs ensures resources are allocated where they are needed most. I’m proud of the partnerships between the Legislature, County Executive, and county departments that led to the implementation of efforts to support recovery efforts head-on. Long-term investments, like these, will create sustainable infrastructure to address addiction and lay the groundwork for continued investment.”
This past year, Albany County announced the award of over $2.3 million to 14 community organizations to support the creation and expansion of programs that will support the prevention and response services.
The county has also been coordinating with Catholic Charities and a variety of local businesses to provide various establishments and their employees with harm reduction equipment and training through the “Anyone Can Narcan Program.” This two-pronged initiative aims to create a social safety net throughout the county by making supplies readily available and equipping residents with training. From bars to bookstores, and salons to supermarkets, a total of 498 NARCAN units were distributed from January 2024 to August 2024. This is in addition to 390 fentanyl test strips and 390 xylazine test strips distributed during this same period. Albany County is also leading by example, as each county facility is equipped with multiple doses of Narcan within our first aid kits. The County also hosts regular Narcan trainings for staff free of cost.
Albany County has also partnered with local pharmacies, including Kelly’s, Crestwood, College Parkside, and Central Ave Pharmacy, to distribute Deterra drug disposal bags. These biodegradable bags work to neutralize medications to reduce not only threats to the environment from improper disposal but to decrease excess prescriptions within households.
