$ 1.3 million in federal funding awarded to fight opioid overdoses in rural Arkansas

DEADLY DOSE: The DEA utilizes a cent to demonstrate the size of a lethal dosage of fentanyl.
United States Drug Enforcement Administration

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed this week that $1.3 million in federal aid would go to battling fentanyl overdoses in backwoods of Arkansas.

" Far too many rural families have dealt with the devastation of overdose, and these deaths are felt deeply throughout rural neighborhoods-- where frequently everyone understands somebody lost too soon," HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson stated. Geographically separated areas are especially risky when it pertains to overdoses from fentanyl and other opioids, which's for a number of factors, including transportation barriers and limited access to healing services.

" We know that funding based upon population size or other broad-based rubrics can miss the essential treatment and response requirements of rural neighborhoods," Johnson said. "That's why the investments we are announcing today are targeted to rural communities and customized to the unique challenges of helping rural healthcare leaders expand access to treatment and develop recovery paths to prevent overdose."

In addition to today's federal award, Arkansas will gather over $250 million over the next lots years in settlement money won in litigation versus the pharmaceutical business, drug store chains and other services that made money from the nation's opioid epidemic. Here's more on how the state is spending that cash.
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