Opioid reduction. That's right. Starting this August, Metro Tech will be launching a brand new initiative to proactively stop the opioid crisis through education and provide students and staff with tools to save lives. The number of overdoses, overdoses and hospitalizations due to abuse is dangerously high. Dependence on prescription drugs. Metro Tech joins the fight against opioids. Today, the school was awarded $150,000 to fund a new opioid reduction plan to help students and staff who may be struggling with drug addiction. The plan is divided into three parts: prevention, harm reduction and treatment intervention. Right now, we want to certify at least 25 teachers and mental health response. Our counselors are qualified or certified, but we want to expand that. The school will install prescription drug disposal containers on all campuses, along with vending machines refilled with fentanyl. Test strips and Narcan will be available in classrooms. Teachers will be trained on how to administer the life-saving medication. The third component is treatment services. So we're going to use these funds to connect students with counseling clinicians. Currently, MetroTech is providing data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which shows that there were 722 unintentional drug overdose deaths in Oklahoma counties between 2017 and 2021. Now, MetroTech is just one of 71 organizations across Oklahoma, from cities to counties to schools, to get a share of this funding.
Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Commission awards millions in grants to combat opioid crisis
MetroTech is one of 71 organizations across Oklahoma to receive a share of the $11 million.
Updated: June 4, 2024 6:21 PM CDT
The Oklahoma State Opioid Reduction Commission awarded millions of dollars in grants across the state on Tuesday to address Oklahoma's opioid crisis. >> Download the KOCO 5 app. Starting in August, Metro Tech Center will begin efforts to curb the opioid crisis by getting ahead of the crisis through education and equipping students and staff with life-saving tools. “The numbers for hospitalizations, overdoses, abuse and prescription drug dependency are dangerously high,” said Robin Miller, senior operations director at Metro Tech. The school was awarded $150,000 to fund a new opioid reduction plan to help staff and students who may be struggling with addiction. The plan is divided into three parts: prevention, harm reduction and treatment intervention. “We want to get at least 25 teachers certified in mental health response. Right now, our counselors are certified, but we want to expand that,” Miller said. The school will install prescription drug disposal containers on all campuses, along with vending machines with fentanyl testing strips, and will equip classrooms with Narcan. Teachers will receive training on how to administer the life-saving medication. “The third element is more treatment services. We're going to use these funds to refer these students to counseling clinicians,” Miller said. Click here to get the latest news stories that interest you. Through its application, Metro Tech provided data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which showed that there were 722 unintentional drug overdose deaths in Oklahoma counties between 2017 and 2021. Metro Tech said their role in students' lives goes beyond the classroom and success starts with helping. “It may not be a personal crisis, but it could be a relative or a neighbor's crisis. So there's just a lack of awareness of that,” Miller said. Metro Tech was one of 71 organizations in Oklahoma to receive a portion of the $11 million grant.TOP STORIES VIDEO: Overnight rain brings heavy flooding to Oklahoma City metropolitan area TIMELINE: Storms return late Tuesday, bringing hail, high winds and tornado risk Oklahoma City Public Schools employees stunned by unexpected layoffs Car destroyed in collision with tractor-trailer in northwest Oklahoma City Morning flooding traps residents near Tinker Air Force Base
The Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Commission on Tuesday awarded millions of dollars in grants across the state to address Oklahoma's opioid crisis.
>> Download the KOCO 5 app
Beginning in August, Metro Technology Center will begin an effort to curb the opioid crisis by getting ahead of it through education and equipping students and staff with the tools to save lives.
“The numbers for hospitalizations, overdoses, abuse and prescription drug dependency are dangerously high,” said Robin Miller, Metro Tech's senior director of operations.
The school was awarded $150,000 to fund a new opioid reduction plan to help faculty, staff and students who may be struggling with drug addiction. The plan has three parts: prevention, harm reduction and treatment intervention.
“We want to get at least 25 teachers certified in mental health response. Right now our counselors are certified but we want to expand that,” Miller said.
The school will install prescription drug disposal containers on each campus, install vending machines with fentanyl testing strips, stock classrooms with Narcan, and train teachers on how to administer the life-saving drug.
“The third component is enhanced treatment services. We will use this funding to connect students with counseling clinicians,” Miller said.
Click here to get the latest news stories that interest you.
Through its application, Metro Tech provided data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which said there were 722 drug overdose deaths in Oklahoma County between 2017 and 2021. Metro Tech said their role in student life goes beyond the classroom and success starts with support.
“It may not be a personal crisis, but it may be a crisis for a relative or a neighbor. So there's just a lack of awareness,” Miller said.
MetroTech is one of 71 organizations across Oklahoma awarded a share of the $11 million.
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