COLORADO REGION 5 OPIOID ABATEMENT COUNCIL

Quarterly Progress Report | Strategic Plan Years 1-2

Reporting Period: 10/1/24-12/31/24

Region 5 Fiscal Agent:

Eagle County Public Health & Environment

Name and Contact of Individual Preparing Report:

Karina Schorr | Region 5 Opioid Abatement Council Coordinator, ECPHE | karina.schorr@eaglecounty.us | 970-328-9811

1. Overview

Project Accomplishments

  • The second 2024 Bi-Annual Council meeting took place during this reporting period on Wednesday, October 9th. Meeting notes, agendas, and slides can be found in this Google Drive folder: October 9th, 2024 Meeting: October 9th, 2024 Meeting

  • Agenda & Item Summary for October 9th Meeting:

    • Public Comment

      • No public comments given

    • Administrative Items

      • Approval of April Council Meeting minutes

      • Co-Chair self-nomination

        • Jenny Wood, with Summit County government, self-nominated prior to the meeting. She was unanimously appointed as the second Co-Chair.

        • Note: In December 2024 Jenny Wood left her position with Summit County Government, and stepped off the Council in January 2025 citing the demands of her new job as a barrier to adequately participating in the Council.

      • Approval for moving settlement funds in a Liquid Asset Account

        • All voting members voted in favor of moving the settlement funds into an account that would gain interest. Doing so is allowable by the AG’s office with the stipulation that all interest is used towards Approved Purposes. The motion passed and Eagle County, as fiscal agent, was given permission to transfer the funds.

    • Contractor Updates - slides developed by contractors to deliver updates can be found this Google Slides Document (slides 6-22) 10.9.24 Region 5 Opioid Abatement Council Meeting

    • Funding Status & Extending Current Contracts

      • The Council reviewed the current funding status, including funds claimed to date, contracted amounts, and upcoming distribution estimates. Details can be found on slides 28-33 of the Google Sheets doc linked above.

        • Note: Since the October 9th meeting some financial updates have been made. Please see “Section 3. Financial Status” of this report for an up-to-date financial summary.

    • Continuation of Current Contracts

      • Effct LLC | Anti-Stigma & Education Campaign

        • Proposal for campaign maintenance (provided by Effct): $118,500/year (down $42,475 from current contract)

        • Group decision: Voting member agreement for continuation of the contract at this time with acknowledgement of refined scope/reporting in new agreement

      • High Rockies Harm Reduction | Mobile Harm Reduction Services

        • Proposal for continued contact, which will include support for 2 FTE throughout contract term: $137,737.60 (up $43,288.96 from original contract amount)

        • Group decision: Voting member agreement for continuation of the contract at this time with acknowledgement of refined scope/reporting in new agreement

      • OMNI Institute | Data Dashboard

        • Option A: Simple maintenance of dashboard, website hosting costs: $30,000/year

        • Option B: Larger website design to showcase Region 5’s work (About Us, Get Involved, Council Member directory, meeting info etc.): $5,054 one time cost

        • Option C: Strengths & Needs Assessment: $34,700-$59,700 one time cost

        • Group decision: Voting member agreement for pursuing the $30,000 Option A for maintenance, with consideration for Option B and C at a later time when we see the functionality of the dashboard as planned

      • Administrative Support for 2025

        • Proposal: With more than 50% of the Infrastructure Grant funds going to support Karina Schorr’s position in 2024, the Region would come up short in retaining the Administrator position without additional regional dollars approved. Assuming that the Region keeps the $56,000.00 earmarked for Administrative Costs in that category and use it in 2025 the total need for another year would be $12,613.00. This number was put towards the group for approval.

        • Group decision: Unanimous approval of ROAC fund use to cover excess in salary cost for Admin position for the year of 2025 totaling $68,613.00 with planning to continue funding Karina’s position for future years

    • Strategic Planning 2025/26

      • The Council reviewed the results of the ranking activity that was shared with the group prior to October 9th. Results of this activity can be found on slides 40-51 of the Google Slides presentation: 10.9.24 Region 5 Opioid Abatement Council Meeting

      • At this point in the meeting time was limited, so breakout groups had just a few minutes to discuss potential opportunities in the 2025/26 Strategic Plan. There was a consensus that a Workgroup should convene to discuss details of the next Strategic Plan, which the Region will aim to submit on March 15, 2025.

  • Strategic Plan 2025/26 Workgroup

    • The SP Workgroup first convened on November 7th, 2024. The group will meet every other week until March 15, 2025, which is the deadline to submit the plan to the AG’s office and obtain more funding. Notes, agendas, and other documents for this workgroup can be found here: 25/26 Strategic Planning Workgroup

      • To begin, the workgroup members voted on several logistic items including:

        • How to determine percentage of funding to be spent across the four categories

          • The Council initially voted on spending percentages in 2022, and again before the October 9th 2024 meeting. Options given and results 2025/26 Strategic Plan below:

            • 2022 Council Voting Results: 0% voted in favor

            • 2024 Council Voting Results: 60% voted in favor

            • Average of 2022 & 2024 Council Voting Results:40% voted in favor

      • Percentage of available funding to spend

        • Funding will gradually decrease year over year. Funding that is not spent now can be utilized in future years to ease the decrease of annual funding available. Taking this into consideration, workgroup members voted in increments of 10% for funding to spend in the 2025/26 Strategic Plan.

          • The average result of this poll was to put aside 35% of the total available funds between 2025-2028 to support later years when distributions decline.

      • Whether to develop a two or four year plan

        • Given that the Region has precise financial projections for the next four years, workgroup members weighed in on whether they would like to develop spending for the next 2 or 4 years. Options given and results below:

          • 2 year plan: 30% voted in favor

          • 4 year plan: 60% voted in favor

          • I’m not sure yet: 10% voted in favor

    • The group is aiming to have a draft plan ready to present to the larger Council by February 19th, the next full Region 5 Council meeting. This will give the group two additional meetings to refine the plan and incorporate any feedback if needed by the March 15th submission deadline.

    • At the end of this reporting period, the workgroup was focused on scoping potential uses of funds across the four categories of Prevention, Harm Reduction, Treatment, and Recovery. A final update on the decisions of this group will be available in the next quarterly report.

Challenges & Barriers

The Eagle County Government Attorney’s office has been experiencing staffing challenges. This has resulted in longer than expected timelines when drafting and executing contracts. New contractors have been advised that this process may take at least 8 weeks, potentially longer.

Council Changes

County Commissioner Hal Edwards, Lake County voting member, was not re-elected to his position during the November 2024 election. A replacement voting member will be identified during the following reporting period.

2 new Council members were on-boarded during this reporting period:

  • Lauren Snyder - Lake County Government

  • Justin Harrow - Summit County Public Health

Jenny Wood, who was voted in as Co-Chair during the October 9th meeting, has had to step off the Council to meet the demands of her new position. The second Co-Chair position remains open, with Jarid Rollins serving as the sole Co-Chair.

2. Contractor Progress & Outcomes

Anti-Stigma & Education Campaign | Effct LLC

Deliverable Status

  • Effct’s Work Plan, with notes, status updates, and links to relevant documents can be found in this Google Sheets document: R5COAC Work Plan/Contractor Scope Tracking

  • All deliverables are currently on schedule.

Data Gathered/Reach

In this reporting period the Community Compass campaign continued to publish and sponsor digital content in all 5 counties of Region 5.

  • Traffic data in the previous quarter (7/1/24-9/30/25) can be found in this document: Community Compass 2024 Q3 Report.pdf

    • Note: the below data was presented to the Council during the October 9th meeting and was included in the previous quarterly report. Q4 data will be available in the following quarterly report.

    • Website

      • 10,617 sessions (566% increase)

      • 9,031 unique visitors (580% increase)

      • Majority of visitors come from Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat

      • 864 clicks on resource pages (200% increase)

    • Socials

      • Facebook

        • Over 5,200 link clicks and 1,000 content interactions

      • Instagram

        • Over 3,900 link clicks and 400 content interactions

      • Snapchat

        • Over 2,600 clicks

      • TikTok

        • Over 5,700 clicks

    • Most Visited Website Pages

      • 1. Resources

      • 2. Education

      • 3. Pitkin County Resources

      • 4. Community Events

      • 5. Eagle County Resources

Accomplishments

In this quarter the Community Compass (CC) continued to publish social media posts featuring local recovery stories and educational content with the goal of directing traffic to the Community Compass and featured resource websites. All content is posted on social media in English and Spanish. The website can be switched back and forth between English and Spanish.

  • Content featured this quarter:

    • October 3rd - Educational Material (EM) : When does MAT get prescribed?

    • October 9th - EM: Inpatient vs Outpatient Treatment

    • October 11th - Resource Highlight (RH): General, Substance Use Treatment

    • October 21st - Community Member Highlight (CMH): Sonja Bjurstrom

    • October 25th - EM: What is naloxone?

    • October 29th - EMl: How to spot an overdose

    • November 2nd - EM: How to administer naloxone

    • November 6th - EMl: Naloxone Good Samaritan Laws\

    • November 10th - RH: Where can I find naloxone?

    • November 18th - EMl: What is your reason to recover?

    • November 21st - EM: Strategies for Maintaining Sobriety during the Holidays

    • November 25th - CMH: Korissa Hoover

    • November 28th - RH: Mind Springs Health

    • December 17th - EM: How to be sober-friendly during the holidays

    • December 23rd - EM: Holiday Challenges for Loved Ones in Recovery

    • December 28th - EM: Sober Holiday Traditions

  • Upcoming Content

    • January 2025 - Achieving and Maintaining Sobriety (Dry January)

    • February 2025 - Responsible Pain Management

Challenges/Barriers/Changes

During this reporting period, all five counties issued press releases about the campaign, completing the official launch.

The group appears to be slowing down a bit on content ideas to feature. It is likely that we may need to adjust our approach in how content is pushed out in the coming months.

Harm Reduction | High Rockies Harm Reduction

Deliverable Status

  • High Rockies Harm Reduction’s Work Plan, with notes, status updates, and links to relevant documents can be found in this Google Sheets document: R5COAC Work Plan/Contractor Scope Tracking

  • All deliverables are currently on schedule.

    • Note: In the next quarterly report HRHR will be behind on the following objectives:

    • Goal 1, Objective 1.e: Train 1-2 FT/PT Harm Reduction Peer Support Specialists

    • Goal 2, Objective 1. B: Identify high-need areas and propose a schedule of weekly service provisions in ID’d areas for each of the R5OAC counties to the HR work group

    • While 1 FT Peer Support specialist has been hired and high-need areas have been identified, it is not feasible for HRHR to expand weekly services in Eagle, Lake and Summit counties without a 2nd Peer Support Specialist dedicated to the Eastern portion of the Region. The travel required of the current team, all of whom live in the Roaring Fork Valley, to provide weekly services in 3 counties 50-100 miles from Garfield and Pitkin counties, is not sustainable. The Region will be applying for COAG Infrastructure Share funds to purchase vehicles that can help HRHR expand and stabilize services across each of the five counties.

Data Gathered/Reach

  • View the full HRHR 2024 Q4 Data spreadsheet here: Q4 HRHR Data.xlsx

  • During this reporting period High Rockies Harm Reduction (HRHR) distributed the following supplies across Region 5: Narcan (two doses per box): 152

    • Kloxxado (two doses per box): 32

    • Intramuscular Naloxone: 0

    • Fentanyl Test Strips: 80

    • Xylazine Test Strips: 0

    • Condoms: 7

    • Sterile Snorting Kits:10

    • Sterile Injection Kits: 2

  • While participant data is somewhat difficult to capture for all of HRHR’s services (many events take place during large scale community events i.e. concerts, festivals) the below data reflects participants at the service events under the Region 5 contract. A participant is defined as an individual who engages with HRHR at a service event AND takes at least one piece of supplies (ie Narcan, fentanyl test strip, sterile injection kit etc.) The below data does not include participants at community-level events.

    Previous quarterly reports may not have accurately reflected the number of services in each county as HRHR does not record an event in their data systems if no participants engage or take supplies. HRHR, using funds approved under the Region 5 contract amendment, has purchased 2 tablets that will aid with data collection in the future, and we will continue to look at ways in which data can be shared back with the Council in a way that demonstrates the impacts of this program.

    • Eagle County participant interactions in this reporting period: 9

    • Garfield County participant interactions in this reporting period: 27

    • Lake County participant interactions in this reporting period: 11

    • Pitkin County participant interactions in this reporting period: 33

    • Summit County participant interactions in this reporting period: 1

Accomplishments

  • High Rockies Harm Reduction has established a monthly schedule of providing services in each county per the Work Plan, as well as weekly services in Garfield and Pitkin counties. Current schedule is outlined below:

    • Aspen, Pitkin County

      • Thursdays 12 pm - 2pm

      • Pitkin County Health & Human Services

    • Snowmass, Pitkin County

      • Thursdays, 4pm - 6 pm

      • Brush Creek Intercept Lot

    • Basalt, Eagle County (Roaring Fork Valley)

      • Fridays 12 pm - 2 pm

      • Mid Valley Family Practice

    • Carbondale, Garfield County

      • Fridays, 3 pm - 5 pm

      • 3rd St Center

    • Eagle County

      • 4th Thursday of each month

      • 12 pm - 2 pm, Vail Health, Eagle

      • 4 pm - 6 pm, Colorado Mountain College, Edwards

    • Summit County

      • 4th Friday of each month

      • 12 pm - 2 pm, Colorado Mountain College, Breckenridge

    • Lake County

      • 4th Saturday of each month

      • 12 pm - 4 pm, Leadville Library

  • High Rockies Harm Reduction has received a used ambulance from Eagle County Paramedics. This vehicle, with its bay and built in storage, is uniquely suited for delivering services. A question remains about yearly maintenance costs but the group will monitor services. An initial budget for maintenance has been approved for $10,000 for the remainder of the contract period.

Challenges/Barriers/Changes

  • It is apparent that expanding services in Eagle, Lake, and Summit counties from a monthly to weekly schedule is not possible without a second FTE Peer Support Specialist. One of the biggest barriers to hiring this staff person is the need for a dedicated vehicle to serve the Eastern portion of the Region.

    • In this reporting period the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council (COAC) announced the long-anticipated third round of Infrastructure Share grant funding. The Region will be submitting an application to purchase two vehicles that can act as mobile offices for HRHR, including one that will be dedicated to the Eastern portion of the Region (Eagle, Lake, and Summit counties) in order to expand services and more adequately attract a Peer Support Specialist candidate.

  • HRHR continues to look for better Summit county locations at which to host services. The Breckenridge CMC campus is largely administrative, and there have been low participation numbers.

Data Dashboard | The OMNI Institute

Deliverable Status

Data Gathered/Reach

  • On January, 25th 2024 OMNI facilitated an initial Strategic Planning session that included Region 5 OAC Council members as well as representation from the larger landscape of regional stakeholders, including health care, nonprofit, and criminal justice organizations.

    • During this session, as well as in a follow-up meeting, OMNI built awareness about the dashboard, and gathered feedback about specific data indicators that attendees felt would be helpful or relevant to include.

  • OMNI is due to begin collecting data for the dashboard in the following reporting period. These efforts will include accessing publicly available data and establishing connections with the holders of privately owned data as well.

Accomplishments

  • OMNI is currently in the process of collecting data for the dashboard. These efforts will include accessing publicly available data and establishing connections with the holders of privately owned data as well. In the previous quarterly report the following indicators had not been obtained, and updates on access during this reporting period can be found below:

    • Domain Name: Upstream/Risk/Protective Factors

      • Mental Health Risk and Protective Factors: 6 indicators downloaded from CO Health Access survey, uncertain whether we will be able to get county-level/regional data

    • Next steps:

      • OMNI will continue to clean the data, import into the dashboard interface, and develop structure and pages of the host website. The English version of the dashboard is scheduled to be finished and available on the website by 5/15/25.

Challenges/Barriers/Changes

All of the data on the dashboard has been obtained by OMNI, who is beginning to clean and import into Tableau, the data visualization tool that will be featured on the website. OMNI shared a mockup of the data dashboard website with the workgroup, who will give feedback into the beginning of the next reporting period on the overall look, organization, content, and function of the website.

3. Financial Status

R5OAC Funding Tracker Awarded vs Received and Allocated

TOTAL AWARDED AMOUNT: $ 1,969,422.41

Total Allocated Funds per Priority

  • Harm Reduction - High Rockies Harm Reduction: $188,897.28

  • Prevention/Education: $425,600

    • Data Dashboard - OMNI: $107,500

    • Anti-Stigma/Education Campaign - Effct LLC: $318,100

  • Treatment - $280,468.80

    • Mind Springs Medically Managed WIthdrawal Facility: $185,836

    • Regional Detention Centers

      • Garfield County: $38,400

      • Lake County: $5,500

        • Note: in January 2025 the Lake County SHerfif’s Office turned down this funding opportunity.

      • Summit County: $56,232.80

  • Administrative: $211,218.94

    • Infrastructure Grant (supports Karina Schorr’s position): $150,000

    • Infrastructure Grant (will support Karina Schorr’s position in 2025): $68,613

    • COAG Conference Room, Board & Travel costs for Council members in 2024: $5,218.94

  • Unallocated Funds: $859,387.39 (claimed by the REgion but not pledged to any specific organization or funding process at this time)

    • Recovery Services - General: $309,049.92

    • School Based Programs: $166,492.97

    • Treatment - General: $383,844.50

Expenses

Total Expenses to Date: $567,516.23

9/01/24-12/31/24 Expenses: $165,312.88

  • High Rockies Harm Reduction

    • Invoice amount: $16,016,00

    • Submitted 9/01/24

    • Description: FTE Peer Support Professional, FIscal Sponsor Indirect Rate & Admin Costs

  • The OMNI Institute

    • Total invoice amount: $12,497.88 ($4,165.96 x 3)

    • Submitted: 10/31/24, 11/30/24, 12/31/24

    • Description: Regular monthly invoicing for Q4

  • Effct

    • Invoice amount: $43,799.00

    • Submitted: 41/06/25

    • Description: Labor and ad sales for Q4, labor for printing request

  • Mind Springs Health

    • Invoice Amount: $93,000.00

    • Submitted: 11/20/24

    • Description: Finalizing Badged Access/Delayed Egress, Replacing Window in Women’s Dormitory, Payment to RAM Development, Inc.

  • Voting members approved moving the funds from Eagle County Government’s holdings into a Liquid Asset Account, which will allow the Region to earn interest on funds. This type of account was recommended by the Eagle County Finance department as the funds will remain accessible while earning 3.92% interest.

4. Sustainability

Strategic Planning Years 3-4

In order to draft the 2025/26 Strategic Plan, a workgroup of Council members has been convening bi-weekly, starting on November 7th. Click here to view the workgroup’s agenda and notes: 25/26 Strategic Planning Workgroup

  • The group’s current goal is to draft a plan by the February 19th Council meeting, where the plan will be shared with the larger group. From there the group will have two more meetings to discuss additional details and next steps before the March 15th funding request deadline for the Attorney General’s office.

  • A full breakdown of the group’s process and decision-making will be made in the following report.

Community Based Partnerships

During this reporting period one organization reached out to Karina Schorr to inquire about funding availability/share information. Running notes for these types of outreach are being tracked in this document Community Org Outreach Notes - R5OAC. The organization that reached out to inquire about funding during this reporting period was Colorado ROOTS, which has done work in Region 4.

Funding Prioritization

No changes to Funding Prioritization occurred during this reporting period.

5. Successes and Lessons Learned

Successes

Participation from the Bi-Annual Council meetings increased between the April and October meetings. 16 Council members attended the April Council meeting, while 23 attended the meeting in October.

Participation from Lake County has also increased in this reporting period. Two Lake County Council members are regularly attending Strategic Planning meetings, whereas at the beginning of 2024 there was no active participation. As Lake County has the highest rates of overdose deaths and emergency rooms visits per 10,000 residents, this is an achievement in the Region’s goal for an equitable process.

Lessons Learned

Expanding harm reduction services in Eagle, Lake, and Summit counties from a monthly to a weekly schedule is not feasible without additional staff and resources. The lack of a second Peer Support Specialist and a dedicated vehicle for the eastern portion of the region has hindered service expansion. This highlights the critical need for targeted infrastructure investments, such as vehicles and staffing, to ensure equitable service availability across all counties. Of all the funding recipients, High Rockies Harm Reduction is the most grassroots, and their success requires a higher degree of investment.

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