The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded the state of South Dakota a $215,000 federal grant to help officials collect and analyze data about opioid misuse, abuse and overdose.
Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon says she is appointing an advisory committee to review opioid use data for the state and develop strategies for preventing opioid misuse and abuse. SDAHO Director, Quality Integration Kristen Bunt will serve on the committee, alongside:
- Tom Martinec, South Dakota Department of Health, Chair
- Sara DeCoteau, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation
- Chris Diedrich, MD, South Dakota State Medical Association
- Margaret Hansen, South Dakota Board of Medical & Osteopathic Examiners
- Amy Hartman, Volunteers of America – Dakotas
- Amy Iversen-Pollreisz, South Dakota Department of Social Services
- Pat Kneip, South Dakota Office of Attorney General
- Rob Loe, South Dakota Pharmacy Association
- Jon Schuchardt, PharmD, Great Plains Indian Health Services
- Kari Shanard-Koenders, South Dakota Board of Pharmacy
- Senator Craig Tieszen, Rapid City
- Senator Jim White, Huron
Malsam-Rysdon says South Dakota has some of the nation’s lowest rates of drug overdose deaths, but officials can’t be complacent and ignore what’s happening in the rest of the country. She says it’s important to get a good handle on opioid use in the state and not wait for the problem to grow.
The funding comes to the South Dakota Department of Health through the CDC’s Prescription Drug Overdose: Data-Driven Prevention Initiative in response to the growing national problem of opioid drug abuse. South Dakota is one of 13 states funded.
Meeting details will be posted here.
