Governor’s Opioid Task Force Meets

Governor’s Opioid Task Force Meets

The governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse met at Sauk County Human Services in Baraboo on Sept. 22. The meeting focused on trauma-informed care and medication assisted treatment programs.

First on the agenda, Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Laura Gutierrez gave an update on Wisconsin’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), citing statistics showing that PDMP compliance is up and fewer opioids are being prescribed.

Wisconsin first lady Tonette Walker then presented on trauma-informed care, along with two other experts in children’s mental health and trauma-informed care for addiction.

Following the first lady were several speakers who focused on the importance of medication assisted treatment for opioid abuse, including a woman currently in recovery and medication assisted treatment through the C.A.R.E. program who testified about her own experience. Officials from Sauk County Human Services then discussed their county’s use of a Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction Grant to provide medication assisted treatment in Sauk and Columbia Counties.

Finally, Department of Corrections officials presented the results of their pilot program that worked with medication assisted programs in northeast Wisconsin. They said they hoped to expand the program to the region between Oshkosh and Milwaukee with funds under the new state budget.

The next opioid task force meeting is planned for Nov. 3 in Madison, where members will discuss workforce issues, along with other matters.