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Lebanon County officials will apply for nearly $3.6 million as part of a second wave of settlement funds being distributed to battle opioid addiction.
This funding is in addition to the nearly $4.2 million the county is receiving in first wave settlement funding, according to James Donmoyer Jr., director of the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
Second wave funding would be distributed over a 13-year period while first wave funding will be paid over 18 years, with both ending approximately around 2039, noted Donmoyer. This funding would pay for two new programs county officials would like to create to address the opioid epidemic, which is killing thousands of Pennsylvanians annually.
In 2023, there were 4,721 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania with 82 percent opioid-related and 76 percent involving fentanyl, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s website.
LebTown previously reported 33 overdose deaths in Lebanon County in 2023, which was in the same range as previous years. There were 29 OD deaths in 2022, 31 in 2021, and 39 in 2020.
Of the 21 overdose deaths in Lebanon County in 2024, 10 were attributed to opiates, wrote Donmoyer in a follow-up email to LebTown.
Donmoyer highlighted for Lebanon County Commissioners how second wave funding would be applied during a Wednesday, Feb. 19, workshop session.
The next day during their regularly scheduled meeting, commissioners approved the commission’s request to apply for second wave funding for the administration of those two new programs.
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Commissioners voted unanimously for an Opioid Use Disorder Outreach program at $25,000 per year, totaling $325,000 over 13 years.
That program will be administered through the RASE (Recovery, Advocacy, Service, and Empowerment) Project to provide services one day per week throughout Lebanon County.
The second program is a Medicated Assistant Treatment (MAT) induction program at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility costing $150,000 per year for a total of $1.95 million.
The MAT induction initiative was approved 2-1, with Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz voting no. Litz said she’d rather have the county request bids for the MAT induction program.
Commissioner Bob Phillips said the county’s healthcare provider at the prison is PrimeCare Medical, adding the Harrisburg-based company would run the induction program if second wave funding is awarded to Lebanon County.
Commission chairman Mike Kuhn and Phillips voted to approve the county’s drug and alcohol commission to submit an application to the state for the MAT Induction initiative.
The two new programs will cost $2,275,000 million over 13 years and leave available funds totaling $1,350,163 million of the $3,625,163 million the county would receive, according to a proposal shared with commissioners and LebTown during the workshop.
Donmoyer noted the MAT maintenance program is for patients already in treatment while the MAT induction program would address the recovery needs of untreated individuals.
Donmoyer also gave an update on programs created under first wave funding. Multiple companies, including drug distributors, retailers, and manufacturers settled a lawsuit with Pennsylvania for up to $1.8 billion, according to published reports.
Donmoyer said 437 patients were treated at the county prison in 2024 as part of the MAT maintenance program. He told LebTown when asked that he didn’t know if that statistic was unique or if that figure included those who re-entered the program.
He also noted multiple reasons the county is running these programs and applying for additional funding to create new ones.
Donmoyer shared a June 17, 2024, letter from the U.S. Department of Justice that says the U.S. Attorney’s Office is mandated to enforce ADA to “protect the rights of individuals in treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, including those individuals currently incarcerated in prisons and jails in Pennsylvania.”
“Everybody says, ‘Well, why are you doing it?’ Well, I can tell you why we’re doing it,” said Donmoyer. “Because the U.S. Department of Justice, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern, Middle, and Western District of Pennsylvania enforces the American Disabilities Act. And under that American Disabilities Act, protective rights of individuals in treatment for opiate use disorder includes those currently incarcerated in prisons and jails. That’s telling me why I’m doing it.”
Donmoyer noted lawsuits filed against Allegheny and Delaware counties for non-compliance are also helping to drive Lebanon County’s program participation in addition to potential legal liability.
“We’re also seeing a lot of people that come into the prison on some kind of MAT want to continue, and if we don’t have the programs in place for that to happen, we’re going to be liable,” he added.
The MAT maintenance program is one of three the county will fund under first wave settlement terms.
LCCF has an average monthly intake of about 120 new inmates with 8 to 12 percent of those individuals requiring opioid detoxification, according to PrimeMedical in a Sept. 30, 2024, letter to LCCF warden Tina Litz.
The other two first wave programs hired a LCCF correctional officer to facilitate the MAT maintenance program at the prison and employed a probation officer through Lebanon County Probation Services as a case manager.
Donmoyer noted the goal of all programs is to keep non-violent offenders out of prison and provide them treatment as a way to hopefully avoid recidivism.
The parole officer hired to manage opiate addicts has a current total caseload of 35 people, of which 25 are receiving MAT treatment.
“There are 25 people that aren’t in our county prison and it’s probably because they have a probation officer that is more geared towards helping them than violating them and locking them up and getting them treatment,” said Donmoyer. “So we can get some of the stuff taken care of so maybe they won’t have to return to a life of crime and eventually end up back in jail.”
Of the 25 MAT patients under parole supervision, Donmoyer said six, or 17 percent, may violate their parole and be returned to prison.
“We’re not going to keep everybody out of jail, but if we keep 71 percent, we keep 25 out of 35 out of jail and six return, I like those numbers,” he said. “I mean, it’s not ever going to be 100 percent (perfect).”
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