New Hampshire is set to receive $1.2 million dollars to help community health centers deal with opioid abuse.
The federal funding will go to three community health centers: Goodwin Community Health in Somersworth, Harbor Homes in Nashua, and Indian Stream Health Center in Colebrook.
Federal officials say each center will add at least one full-time substance abuse treatment provider, and that the state's funding could support as many as seven new full-time treatment providers and related staff.
Rachel Kaprielian is administrator for Region 1 of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes New Hampshire and the New England states. She says these centers simply need more resources to deal with the rise in opioid abuse.
"What the community needs is, first and foremost, to serve who their patients are," she says. "If it's more immediate detox, if it's more longer-term recovery, that would be [determined] health center to health center."
Kaprielian says the federal government's goals include expanding access to the anti-overdose drug Narcan, working with health professionals on how and when to prescribe opioids, and using medication to supplement other treatment options.
HHS officials on Friday announced $94 million dollars of supplemental funding allocated to 271 health centers across the country.
