Senator McConnell Helps Secure $725,000 for UK St. Claire to Combat Opioid Epidemic

LOUISVILLE, KY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced on Monday that UK St. Claire will receive $725,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program to support the use of medication-assisted treatment in rural communities.

“I applaud the Trump Administration for its work to help fight the opioid and substance abuse addiction plaguing the Commonwealth and our nation. The funding provided to UK St. Claire under this grant program is welcome news and will be put to good use in helping to fight the opioid epidemic,” said Senator McConnell. “Eastern Kentucky continues to confront the opioid epidemic, with many counties experiencing alarmingly high drug-overdose rates. UK St. Claire will use this funding to expand its current medication-assisted treatment services and implement these services in other rural health clinics.”

“UK St. Claire is very appreciative of any assistance to help fight opioid use disorders,” said Donald H. Lloyd, II, UK St. Claire President and CEO. “The growing and unprecedented opioid epidemic is a critical issue for public health and medical care throughout the country. As providers of health care, we owe it to our patients and the communities we serve to be the gatekeepers of pain medicine prescriptions and to facilitate access to treatment for addictions.”

“UK St. Claire is thrilled to receive this award, as it allows us to increase the number of access points where Northeastern Kentuckians with an opioid use disorder can receive evidence-based care,”said David A. Gross, St. Claire’s administrative director for education and research, who will administer the project. “Our region continues to feel the effects of the opioid epidemic, but we firmly believe that expanding medication-assisted treatment services at our Frenchburg Family Medicine clinic and implementing MAT at our Olive Hill, Owingsville, and Sandy Hook sites will aid in the recovery of those battling opioid addiction. Senator McConnell’s support was instrumental to St. Claire being selected for this funding and we look forward to continued collaborations with his office in our future efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.”

As Majority Leader, Senator McConnell has prioritized federal resources to fight the opioid epidemic by increasing federal funding for the response. Kentucky has received over $200 million as a result of his work to prioritize the federal response to the addiction epidemic. Most recently, he led to enactment a landmark opioid bill signed by President Trump that includes his bills: CAREER Act and Protecting Moms and Infants Act.