Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board
Medical & Research Working Group Meeting
July 16, 2024
Virtual Meeting Held Via Zoom
Meeting Minutes
Medical and Research Working Group Members
Adrienne Adams, MD, Rosecrance (Chair)
Nicole Gastala, MD, IDHS, SUPR
Jessica Perillo, Health Management Associates
Katie Unthank, Egyptian Health Department
Michael Dennis, PhD, Lighthouse Research Institute, Chestnut Health Systems
Tamara Olt, MD, Broken No More, Jolt Foundation
Doug Smith, PhD, University of Illinois
Katherine Austman, MD, Gibson Area Hospital and Health Services
Katharine (Kitty) Juul, Southern Illinois University (SIU)
Lindsay Wilson, CDC Foundation
Michael Isaacson, Kane County Health Department
Dan Lustig, PsyD, MA, Haymarket Center
Leslie Wise, PhD, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)
Lia Daniels, Illinois Hospital Association (IHA)
Brent Van Ham, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Geoff Bathje, PhD, Sana Healing Collective, Chicago Recovery Alliance
Welcome and Roll Call
Sue Pickett, PhD of Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP), facilitator, welcomed the group and conducted roll call. All members were present except for Adrienne Adams, Nicole Gastala, Katie Unthank, Tamara Olt, Michael Isaacson, and Dan Lustig. Quorum was established.
Review and Approval of May 21, 2024 Meeting Minutes
Dr. Pickett called for a motion to approve the May 21st meeting minutes. Dr. Dennis made a motion to approve the minutes. Dr. Wise seconded the motion to approve the minutes. All members present voted in favor of approving the minutes. The motion to approve the minutes passed.
Priority Recommendations for the IORAB
The working group discussed a telehealth recommendation developed by the IORAB Access & Equity Working Group. This recommendation will be presented to the IORAB at the July 18th meeting.
* Mr. Jim Wilkerson, interim Statewide Opioid Settlement Administrator (SOSA), shared that the recommendation will provide initial/start-up funding to support telehealth expansion, including technology, resources, and education, to increase access to prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services for rural areas and historically-underserved communities. If approved, this funding would be available for three years. A total of $5 million (M) has been suggested to support these efforts.
* In response to a question about how the amount of $5M was determined, Mr. Wilkerson stated that they had determined this amount by looking at the costs for similar projects in Illinois and other states. While many treatment providers have already invested in telehealth, funding provided through this recommendation could be used by mobile medication assisted recovery (MAR) units, many of which do not have telehealth capacity. Organizations could use funds to replace outdated telehealth equipment and systems. The recommendation allows money to be spent on other justifiable costs related to telehealth to allow innovation.
* Mr. Wilkerson discussed that all training included in recommendations approved by the IORAB will be completed by the Opioid Training and Technical Assistance Center (OTTAC). The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for organizations to host the OTTAC will be released soon. A group member mentioned that the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center website https://www.umtrc.org/ could be included as a resource in the telehealth NOFO.
* It was noted that the IORAB Workforce Development & Infrastructure working group had voted to endorse the telehealth recommendation, but that the IORAB Medical & Research working group was not required to vote on endorsing this recommendation. Dr. Austman made a motion for the working group to endorse the telehealth expansion recommendation. Ms. Daniels seconded the motion. All members present voted to support the motion to endorse the recommendation. The motion passed.
* Dr. Adams will provide an update about the Medical & Research working group's activities and their recommendation to support services for youth and families at the July 18th IORAB meeting; however, this recommendation will likely not be considered for approval by the IORAB until the October meeting.
* The group reviewed the draft of the Youth and Family Services recommendation which will fund a full system of services, including prevention, treatment, and recovery supports that meet the needs of adolescents and their families. These services include comprehensive prevention interventions, screening and treatment services specifically designed for youth, programs that engage youth in treatment, training for providers to engage youth in telehealth services and online recovery groups, recovery groups for adolescents, innovative and evidence-based family support interventions, online platforms that help engage youth in services, harm reduction for teens, and community based prevention programs for teens with justice involvement.
* The group discussed the need for harm reduction programs for teens. A member provided a link to the Drug Policy Alliance's Safety First program, a drug education curriculum for teenagers. Another group member mentioned prevention programming for youth involved in the justice system funded via the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative. Mr. Wilkerson discussed that harm reduction within the justice system might need to be included in a separate recommendation, as it would be funded via an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with a state agency working within juvenile justice rather than via a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). However, if the harm-reduction or prevention services are community-based, it may be logical to include them in the current recommendation. The working group will review information about these prevention programs and determine the best way to move these recommendations forward.
* Dr. Austman made a motion to move the recommendation forward to the SOSA and IORAB. Ms. Juul seconded the motion. Mr. Bathje abstained from the vote. All other members present voted to move the recommendation forward to the SOSA and IORAB. The motion passed.
* Dr. Pickett discussed the process of making recommendations for the use of settlement funds. Recommendations can come from the IORAB working groups as well as other coalitions, organizations, and individuals, including members of the public, based on the needs they see related to addressing the impact of opioids. All recommendations go to the SOSA for review, the SOSA then reviews the recommendation with the chairs of the working groups. Working group chairs can bring the recommendation back to their group for review and discussion. Recommendations are shared with working groups prior to being voted on by the IORAB to ensure transparency and gather expert input. Recommendations must be submitted via a form and align with the State Opioid Action Plan (SOAP) and core abatement strategies listed in the allocation agreement. More information about this process can be found at this website: Illinois Opioid Settlements Initiative
* A working group member stated that leaders from smaller community-based harm reduction programs were frustrated by the lack of funding opportunities. Mr. Wilkerson responded that there was an approved recommendation to fund harm reduction; the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) must disburse funding for harm reduction. IDPH is expected to post a NOFO for harm reduction programming in 2025.
* A funding opportunity for a total of $678,000 for harm reduction called the Harm Reduction Community Linkages Project is available on the IDPH website. Dr. Wise clarified that the Community Linkages Project is not funded through the settlement but via the Overdose Data to Action initiative at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The $15M ($5 million per year for 3 years) of settlement funding has not been received by IDPH yet; they will work to get an IGA approved and implemented once it is.
* A group member asked about the impact of the Supreme Court ruling on the Sackler settlement on state activities. Mr. Wilkerson said that a representative of the attorney general (AG) will discuss the impact of this ruling on state activities at the July 18th IORAB meeting. The money from that settlement has not been included in the current plan as only funds from fully-settled agreements is considered to be available.
Public Participation
No members of the public were present.
Adjourn
* Dr. Pickett called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Dennis made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Austman seconded the motion to adjourn. All members voted to approve the motion. Dr. Pickett adjourned the meeting. The next meeting of the IORAB Medical & Research Working Group will be held on September 17, 2024, from 12:00pm-1:00pm.
