NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Pasco County commissioners approved recommendations this week from the county's opioid task force about how settlement money from lawsuits against the drug industry should be spent to help curb the opioid crisis.

What You Need To Know

  • Pasco commissioners approved the county's opioid task force recommendations for allocating opioid settlement money 

  • Nine projects received a total of more than $8 million in funding

  • BayCare Behavioral Health received the most funding — more than $3 million for a behavioral health urgent care

  • The director of operations for behavioral health at BayCare said it will be the first facility of its kind in Tampa Bay and, possibly, in the entire state

"One of the priorities of the opioid task force has been to try to distribute these funds in a manner where we are impacting all segments of the population that we can — from expectant mothers all the way to veterans, homeless individuals in our community, individuals who may be struggling and don't even know that they're having a struggle because they're just getting those symptoms identified by their primary care doctors," said Paula Baracaldo, Pasco County's director of support services and task force member. "So, through these funds, we're actually going to be able to make those connections and provide additional services to them. So, it's going to be a widespread impact, and we're also forging partnerships, which is really important.

According to information from the county, $8.4 million was allocated to nine projects.

 

They included $600,000 for Premier Community Healthcare Group, Inc. for expansion of support services and behavioral health staff, education and case management; $286,000 for Pasco Kids First for mobile outreach and personnel, outreach, supplies and equipment; $25,000 for Ace Opportunities for treatment and recovery support services and transitional housing; $297,803 for WestCare GulfCoast-Florida, Inc. for direct services, case management, outreach and education; $200,000 for the Alliance for Healthy Communities, Inc. for education, stigma reduction and awareness for youth, $138,950 for The Hope Shot, Inc. for recovery housing; and $61,000 for Florida Recovery Schools of Tampa Bay, Inc. to fund Victory High School, mental health and recovery services, rent and partial salaries.

 

The biggest award went to BayCare Behavioral Health, with more than $3 million to establish a behavioral health urgent care.

“When you need to go to urgent care, you can make an appointment same day, you can walk in if you need to, there’s extended hours, right? So, that’s the same concept, except for behavioral health needs,” said Tracy Kaly, director of operations for Behavioral Health at BayCare and a task force member. 

Kaly said that can include anything from someone dealing with grief who needs to talk with a therapist to someone who wants to detox and needs to access services.

“What is that service that that individual really needs? Maybe it’s something more routine, maybe it is something more urgent, but they could come here, and we could help them figure it out because, oftentimes, navigating the behavioral health system is tricky,” she said.

According to Kaly, the urgent care would be the first facility of its kind in Tampa Bay and, possibly, in the entire state.

A building on BayCare’s behavioral health campus on King Helie Boulevard that’s currently being used by the facilities team and for office space is going to undergo renovations to become the urgent care. Funding for the project will be released during the next three years. Kaly said the first year of funds is going toward construction and the next two are going to operational costs. 

“This felt like the ideal place because right across the street, we have our integrated stabilization unit. So, if individuals do need detoxification or withdrawal management, we’re able to connect them right to those services. Also across the street is our outpatient center, so where we offer medication assisted treatment, where we offer groups, where we have doctors and therapists,” Kaly said.

Baracaldo said when it comes to the opioid crisis in Pasco, the county has seen an increase in overdoses but a decrease in deaths.

“We’re still higher than the state average in Pasco County when it comes to both fatal and non-fatal overdoses due to opioid use,” said Kaly. “The numbers are improving, and I think with this level of care also being added to the continuum, that will continue in that direction.”

Kaly said the goal is to have the urgent care opened by the end of the year.