Appointed Committees

COMMITTEE ON ADDICTION September 19, 2017 Page 1 Committee Members Present: Mayor Barney, Paul Stroklund, Patti Eisenzimmer, Jason Olson, Shannon Straight, Stephan Podrygula, Robert Barnard, Chris Ray, Lisa Clute, Steve Hall Members Absent Dennis Lindahl, Dr. Jeffrey Sather, Laurie Gotvaslee, Mark Vollmer, Mark Schaefer, Val Potter Mayor Barney called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Update on Bush Foundation Grant Application Mayor Barney said he has been working with professional grant writers to apply for the Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grant. Megan Laudenschlager explained, it is a $200,000 grant spread over two years. The goal is to drive problem solving in communities. She briefly explained, the narrative has a three-phased approach: assessing the scope of impact of opioid addiction in the region mapping available resources; developing a community response flow chart for short-term care needs; and developing a hub and spoke treatment approach for long-term care needs. The committee then discussed the need to have representation from a medical provider attend the committee meetings. The Mayor said he has reached out to Mr. Kutch at Trinity but has gotten no response. Lisa Clute said she will continue to reach out to Trinity and will also look for other medical providers. She believes the emergency room plays a vital role in this issue and there needs to be representation from them. Patti Eisenzimmer said Jason Anderson from Trinity, attended the Treatment and Family Services meeting but he was reluctant to come because of the connection with Trinity. The group assured him there would be no judgement during their meetings. Sub-Committee Chair Reports Education/Outreach Paul Stroklund said, the Education/Outreach subcommittee met a few times and decided to create a brand and a logo. They have gone with the phrase “Help Heal Minot- A Light on the Shadow of Addiction.” He said, they have put together a slideshow and their first presentation will be for First District Health Unit. The plan is to give a 15-20 minute presentation and then allow time for questions. Mr. Stroklund said Recovery Reinvented, taking place on September 26th should give them a lot of valuable information to bring back to the committee. He said they also discussed drop box locations for unused medications which can be found at Marketplace Foods on North Hill as well as the Police Station and County Jail. He said they are working on an education campaign about Narcan and mentioned it can be found at CVS but was removed from the shelves at White Drug. Mayor Barney asked Jill Schramm if she could publish the drop box locations in the Minot Daily News. He also said, he and Lisa Clute will speak to White Drug to find out why Narcan was pulled out of the store. Their next meetings will be October 10th and 24th at the Auditorium. The meeting September 26th will be cancelled since he will be in Bismarck for the conference. COMMITTEE ON ADDICTION September 19, 2017 Page 2 Treatment & Family Services Patti Eisenzimmer said the Treatment and Family Services Groups worked together to discuss covered services and what Minot is lacking. She explained the barriers, including availability of insurance, which drives the length and type of treatment. She said, even with insurance, an addict is only admitted to treatment for a limited amount of time and then is left on their own. The group suggested looking into possible grants that may be able to cover medical costs. Their subcommittee also discussed how to combine resources and the idea of a call center or hotline where addicts or family members can find the answers to their questions and be in contact with resources that can help. The Mayor commented, these are key ideas and he agreed with the concept of a central location to create a seamless information center. Health & Safety Lisa Clute said, she provided a mission statement to the subcommittee. They then reviewed evidence based best resources and discussed well founded strategies. Those in attendance at their meeting voted on which areas to focus their attention. The first area will be the needle exchange program. Secondly they want to focus on increasing awareness and reducing the stigma surrounding addiction. The take back medication program is well on its way but the group decided to work on increasing publicity. She listed several other areas they discussed and said they will work on the needle exchange program during their next meeting, October 3rd. Daniel Johnson came forward to ask if any of the committees have reached out to 12 step programs. He said, his probation officer, not a treatment center, led him to seek out the program and that is how he has been able to stay clean. Mayor Barney said he is grateful for the information and that is exactly the type of input they need. He encouraged Mr. Johnson to join the subcommittees. Aftercare Mr. Vollmer was unable to attend but the next meeting of the Aftercare subcommittee will be September 21st at 6:30 pm in MPS Administration Building. Other Business Alderman Podrygula shared a piece of information by stating, the largest number of people with addiction get sober through personal family based help, the next largest from Narcotics Anonymous and 12 step programs, and lastly from professional, medical help. The group will research all avenues. Cindy, a member of the public came forward with questions about Trinity and their contract with the jail. Sheriff Barnard explained, Trinity is the only hospital in town and they provide three nurse practitioners, and one mental nurse practitioner. He said, he cannot attest to what kind of treatment they receive but they do provide methadone treatment if it is requested by the inmate. Heather, a member of the public, said, she started a support group for addicts and family members, with COMMITTEE ON ADDICTION September 19, 2017 Page 3 the hope to help eliminate the stigma around addiction. She has a Facebook group and takes personal calls from those who need help. Kevin Dunn, of the New Life Fellowship said there is a great need for help for addicts leaving jail. They have started Minot Transformation Project in association with Teen Challenge and they would like to be a part of the recovery picture. The next meeting will be held Thursday, October 19th at 6:30 pm in the City Council Chambers. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:13 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Kelly Matalka City Clerk