Baptist Health Corbin receives $1,000,000 to combat Opioid use

The Baptist Health Foundation Corbin, Inc. is one of six treatment providers across Kentucky to receive a $1,000,000 grant to help combat the Opioid Epidemic in rural Kentucky.

The money is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced the funding Monday morning.

“This past year, opioid overdose deaths surged across the country, driven by the isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the flood of dangerous fentanyl coming across our borders. Kentucky has tragically suffered one of the worst spikes in overdose deaths in the nation. With today’s federal grant announcement, we are continuing our efforts to reverse this painful trend,” said McConnell. “In the Senate, I’ve worked to mobilize federal government resources to address our substance abuse crisis head-on with targeted prevention, treatment, and enforcement programs. I look forward to continuing to work with these important Kentucky organizations and finally putting an end to the scourge of addiction.”

The money will be used to increase personnel to meet the needs of patients, said Anthony Powers, president of Baptist Health Corbin.

“Baptist Health Corbin is one of the largest behavioral health providers in the area between Knoxville and Lexington,” said Powers. “We have an integrated approach from in-patient hospitalization service to intensive outpatient programs where people come three to five days a week and then we have just traditional outpatient clinic visits.”

“This funding will allow us to increase access to treatment,” said Powers. “It will allow us to treat more individuals and have more availability for patients when they need it.”

Other locations to receive funding include, Foothills Academy, Inc. in Albany; Mountain Comprehensive Care Center, Inc. in Prestonsburg; Northern Kentucky University in Newport; St. Claire Medical Center, Inc. in Morehead; and Westcare Kentucky, Inc. in Ashcamp.