Amid an uptick in drug overdoses, New Hanover County leaders in North Carolina are moving forward with a plan to invest millions from the hospital sale and from an opioid settlement to address substance use and mental health issues, the Wilmington StarNews reports
The cost of implementing the county’s guidelines, which are being called Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Strategic Plan, are expected to cost around $25 million, according to Jennifer Rigby, New Hanover County’s chief strategy officer. Part of the funding for the county’s strategic plan will come from a $50 million mental health fund created when the county sold New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant.
In the first six months of this year, 299 people overdosed on opioids in New Hanover County — a figure that’s been climbing since 2020. Read more.
