SANFORD — While opportunities for opioid treatment are expanding to some degree. the Rural York County Opioid Consortium wants to know a lot more about what is needed in the area. To that end, the consortium is hosting a community forum on Feb. 28 at Sanford High School, followed by training on how to recognize an overdose and how to administer the overdose antidote naloxone.

The information gathered will be used to develop strategies to improve services in Alfred, Sanford and Springvale, Parsonsfield, Newfield and Waterboro, Wells, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, organizers say.

The forum comes as the consortium announces initiatives that have begun or are in the process in the effort to boost York County’s treatment availability to those in the throes of opioid use disorder.

There were 82 overdose deaths in York County in 2017, according to the Maine Attorney General’s Office, including 12 in Sanford, 23 in Biddeford, and the others scattered throughout the county. Of the 12 in Sanford, 11 were due to opioids; of the 23 in Biddeford, 20 were due to opioids, according to the AG’s latest report, issued on Feb. 22, 2018.

“In the past five years at least 1,630 people in Maine have died from drug overdose – more than the population of Chesterville, or Eastport or North Berwick, said Gov. Janet Mills in a January address.

She pledged to partner with hospitals and treatment providers, jails and community members to increase access to medication assisted treatment, increase availability of naloxone, to promote effective education and prevention measures, to establish hotline “and take traffickers off our streets.”

One new initiative announced Monday is a “rapid access” pilot program at Southern Maine Health Care’s emergency departments in Sanford and Biddeford designed for patients with opioid use disorder-related conditions, said Southern Maine Health Care spokeswoman Allison Kenty.

She said patients will be screened and those who qualify can initiate medication-assisted treatment immediately. Partnering with Maine Behavioral Healthcare, patients will be started on suboxone in the emergency department and then referred to MBH’s programs in Biddeford or Springvale where they will receive continued, individualized care that supports ongoing recovery efforts.

As well, Kenty said SMHC’s family medical practices in Sanford and Saco are now working with clinicians at Maine Behavioral Healthcare’s Integrated Medication Assisted Treatment programs, in Springvale and Biddeford to provide care that addresses both substance use and routine healthcare needs.

The medical practices are also looking for designation by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services as an Opioid Health Home.

“If we qualify for this designation, then the patient will have 100 percent coverage of the medical clinical visit, group therapy, and medication,” said Dr. Jessica Morin, medical director of SMHC’s Integrated Medication Assisted Treatment Program. She said in the meantime, anyone who is uninsured can apply for free care at SMHC.

Other programs include York Hospital’s “Phase Program” with medication assisted treatment that provides intensive outpatient program for treatment of all substance use disorders. Phase I and Phase II are programs that together provide professional support for 6 months of the recovery process, said Henty.

As well, Nasson Health Care in Springvale provides outpatient a medical assisted treatment program that integrates medical and behavioral health care and is working to expand to a low-barrier MAT program with focus on harm reduction strategies and same day access.

Henty pointed out that Recovery Coach Training is offered through the Kennebunk Police Department.

Partners for Healthier Communities and Strategies for a Stronger Sanford have teamed up to offer a student intervention and reintegration program as well as classes for social and emotional learning, building resiliency, tools to make healthy decisions, raising awareness of medication drop boxes and methods of safe storage, she added.

Other programs west of the Maine Turnpike include Enso Recovery, which offers medical assisted treatment in Sanford and at York County Jail. York County government, through a partnership with York County Shelter Programs, offers residential treatment at Layman Way Recovery Center in Alfred for qualified people charged with non-violent crimes who would otherwise be incarcerated at York County Jail, awaiting trial.

The Rural York County Opioid Consortium membership includes Southern Maine Health Care, Maine Behavioral Healthcare, Nasson Health Care, Frannie Peabody Center, the Kennebunk Police Department, York Hospital, North East Mobile Health Services, Day One and Strategies for a Stronger Sanford.

The Opioid Community Forum is set for 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb 28, with a March 5 snow date. The first hour will feature an open discussion led by staff from the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service, to gather input on barriers and gaps in the community for opioid treatment access, recovery, and prevention in rural York County. During the second hour, Lizzy Garnatz, a Community Health Promotion Specialist with the City of Portland’s Public Health Division will provide a free training on how to recognize an opioid overdose and use naloxone. Morin will be on hand to answer questions about the availability of naloxone.

Henty said food and drinks will be provided as well as raffles for gift cards.

The forum will take place at the Agora Presentation Area at Sanford High School and Regional Technical Center, 100 Alumni Blvd, in Sanford. Attendees should use the main entrance. To register, call 207-283-7234 or email info@smhc.org. The consortium also welcomes feedback by an online survey at http://bit.ly/opioidsyorkcounty.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.