Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis reached out to Karla Jacques with USDA Rural Development to discuss grant opportunities involving opioid abuse within Stoddard County.
Jacques spoke to commissioners and representatives from SoutheastHEALTH, Regional Healthcare Foundation and judicial services regarding $5 million in grant opportunities nationwide during May 7 commission meeting. The grant money is open to be used for any type of opioid addiction equipment, rehabilitation center, connectivity with others and more.
"Right now the sky is pretty much the limit," Jacques said. "But they are really focusing on collaboration together to get a strategic plan to provide services and education."
Jacques added she believed connectivity and collaboration will be key in rural areas to receive help with qualified doctors from larger cities.
A short deadline is in place for the grant opportunities. According to Jacques, applications are due to the state office by June 4, will move to the national offices in July and recipients will be announced Aug. 1.
Mathis said his vision going forward would be to first select a small group of people and then see what is being offered by the grant, how the grants are financially structured and who can apply. Then, the viability of proposed projects would be checked to assure the long term needs of Stoddard County are met. Finally, the projects would be made sustainable in the event grant money was eliminated.
Mathis added he is not looking to limit the scope of opportunity because of the small size of the county.
"Lets dream big and see where it can go," he said. "I want something doable, workable and effective."
If the county is not able to meet the quickly approaching June deadline, Mathis added the county will be that far ahead for the next deadline to submit their application.
"The first step in recovery is being able to admit you have a problem," Mathis said. "Your choices as an addict are simple: do nothing and allow your life to spiral out of control, die or admit you have a problem and seek help."
Mathis added he believed many did not seek help because of either lack of qualified facilities in the area that provide medical services and addiction counseling, not being able to afford treatment or the stigma of being forever labeled as an addict.
Opioid addiction has hit home personally for Mathis and his family.
Aaron Mathis, Greg's youngest son, attended the meeting and bravely shared his story of addiction just weeks out of treatment.
Four years ago, Aaron was injured while making a removal for the county's coroner office.
He was prescribed an opioid and tramadol for his injury. Six months later, Aaron said he realized he had a problem after getting sick when not taking the tramadol. Just the "tip of the iceberg," Aaron said he began taking vicodin on a daily basis for nearly two years.
Aaron admitted to his family he had a problem when he could not be awake for no more than 30 minutes without taking a pill or becoming sick.
"I'm very fortunate I realized I had an issue," he said.
He decided to go through the withdrawal process on his own, but sought out treatment from a psychiatrist in St. Louis to battle the mental obsession of the disease.
"There is no psychiatrist around here that could help," he said of his decision to travel to St. Louis.
After two months, he said he still did not feel right and decided to go somewhere for treatment.
Aaron went to a small rural farm setting rehabilitation center in Tennessee and spent 16 hours a day talking about addiction.
"I got what I needed there. This isn't a sad thing," he said. "I'm fortunate I realized I had a problem and got help. I'm the face of addiction."
Going forward and applying for grants, Aaron reiterated there are no options available in Stoddard County for someone with an opioid problem or narcotic addiction.
"I'm excited this is being brought to light," Aaron said. "I'm looking forward to being able to help the commission, SoutheastHEALTH, the Regional Healthcare Foundation and I'm excited about everyone working together to tackle this problem."
Sheriffs Department Body Cameras
Sheriff Carl Hefner updated the commission on the process of his department on purchasing eight body cameras for deputies.
The eight cameras will be purchased from the sheriff's budget from COBAN Technologies for $3,600. A fee of $300 will be charged each year for upgrades to software after the initial year.
The body camera footage will be stored on the sheriff's department in house server.
After researching other companies, Hefner said he felt this was the best price. Once ordered, the cameras should arrive in a couple weeks.
Hefner added deputies at his department are looking forward to the new additions and have agreed to abide by the policies set in place when wearing a body camera.
Sheriff's Department Loosing Deputies
Hefner reported he is down four deputies in his department and said the reasoning comes down to money.
"The reason I lost people is because of money and the reason I can't hire is because of money," he said.
According to Hefner, the Bloomfield Police Department pays their part time officers more than a county officers starting pay.
Most recently, the department lost several employees to the Dexter Police Department. Hefner said their starting salary is better compared to the county and they pay officers for overtime.
The deputies at the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department are allowed comp time, but are not able to take it due to the schedule and no one available to work.
"The fact is if we don't do something to keep people here and hired, we are not going to have a sheriff's department in Stoddard County," Hefner said.
Mathis asked Hefner and Chief Deputy Andy Holden to compile a written list of their concerns for a future agenda item during an upcoming commission meeting. The concerns would then be formally discussed and addressed.
911 Equipment Purchase
Stoddard County 911 Administrator Carol Moreland told commissioners the department was in the market for new equipment and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD).
Zuercher Technologies in South Dakota offers a one solution for 911 and CAD equipment, Moreland said.
"It's very innovative and we would never have to buy new equipment again," she said.
The company provides four upgrades per year, opposed to updating equipment every five years, which is being done now.
The new equipment will put the sheriff's department, Dexter Police, Bernie Police and Bloomfield Police Departments all on the same page with 911 calls. Other departments can be added later with progression, Moreland said.
Each entity is being asked to pay their data conversion fee and yearly maintenance, Stoddard County 911 will fund the rest.
The money being paid now for records management will go toward the data conversion, according to Holden, who is on the 911 board.
"This is not costing anymore money than we are already paying," he said. "After the data conversion, we may save money in the long run."
The streamline equipment will allow deputies to see from their vehicles what 911 dispatchers are typing reducing the chance of loosing information through the transfer process.
"This is going to be a game changer," Moreland said. "We are going to be the first one in Missouri with this. I'm real excited for Stoddard County and progress is promised."