Richmond to launch $300K pilot program to treat opioid addiction in city jail
A new initiative to treat opioid addiction is being launched at the Richmond jail after city officials authorized using $300,000 in national opioid settlement money to help incarcerated people with drug problems.
The funding will pay for medication to treat inmates diagnosed with opioid use disorder, according to city documents, as well as an additional nurse at the jail who will oversee the program.
The program’s goal is to try to set participants up for success when they leave the jail by helping them work on substance abuse issues while incarcerated.
“The risk of fatal overdose for formerly incarcerated people is significantly heightened, with studies reporting that individuals who have been recently released from incarceration are up to forty times more likely to die of an opioid overdose within the first two weeks of release,” the city’s proposal for the funding says. “This percentage substantially decreases if the individual can remain on their prescribed medication for opioid use disorder throughout their incarceration and beyond release.”
To be eligible to receive medication through the program, inmates must have a valid prescription for treatment of opioid use disorder.
Last year, the city of Richmond had 191 fatal opioid overdoses, significantly above pre-pandemic numbers, according to Virginia Department of Health data. That’s a rate of 82.2 deaths per 100,000 residents, nearly four times higher than the 2023 statewide rate of 21.2 deaths per 100,000 residents.
In 2023, Richmond received nearly $1.3 million in national opioid settlement money to resolve litigation brought against pharmaceutical companies to require those companies to cover some of the societal costs of the opioid epidemic. Without much controversy or debate, the City Council passed an ordinance this month allocating $300,000 of that amount to the new jail program.
“There is no cost to the city of Richmond,” Michael Fatula, the city’s policy advisor for opioid response coordination, said as he explained the proposal at a council committee meeting.
By potentially bringing down overdose and recidivism rates, Fatula said, the program could ultimately reduce costs to the city.
“For every dollar spent on treatment of opioid use disorder, based on research and evidence we’re likely to see a $4 savings in health care costs and a $7 savings in criminal justice costs,” Fatula said at the Nov. 21 meeting.
City officials declined to comment further on the program. The office of Sheriff Antionette Irving, who oversees the jail, didn’t respond to requests for comment last week.
At last month’s council committee hearing, several members praised the idea and asked to be kept in the loop on how the pilot program is working.
“It’s way past time that we treat health issues as health issues. And this is a great step in the right direction,” said Councilor Ellen Robertson (6th District). “The epidemic that we are dealing with is not going away.”
