062623 Opioid Update with Municipalities
June 26, 2023 – Randolph County Opioid Municipalities Meeting
Randolph County hosted an Opioid Litigation Settlement Municipalities Meeting at 9:00 a.m.
on June 26, 2023, at the Randolph County Government Offices, Meeting Room A, 725 McDowell
Road, Asheboro, NC 27205. Chairman Darrell Frye, Commissioner Maxton McDowell, and
Commissioner Hope Haywood were in attendance. Also attending was the County Manager Hal
Johnson. From the municipalities were John Ogburn, Asheboro City Manager, Zeb Holden,
Archdale City Manager, and Stevie Cox, Trinity City Manager.
Chairman Frye welcomed attendees and said this meeting is required in the process to address
the funding from the opioid settlement. Every County in North Carolina will be receiving funding
from the Opioid Litigation Settlement Funds.
In 2018, Randolph County was in the top two counties affected by opioids in North Carolina.
It was after this that the County joined the lawsuit against opioid distributors. The $26 million-
dollar lawsuit resulted in distributions to multiple parts. The Board of Commissioners signed a
memorandum of agreement to address funding.
Chairman Frye thanked the municipalities represented and said there has been collaborative
efforts to find solutions.
Hal Johnson, County Manager, said Randolph County was among the first in the state to file
suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. In 2022, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
was adopted to administer these funds. This MOA specifies the allocation, use, and reporting of
funds from the initial settlements. The allocation is $8.8 million to the County over the next 18
years.
Mr. Johnson stated that former County Commissioner Stay Haywood, who was a pharmacist,
recognized the issues that were forthcoming from opioid use.
Mr. Johnson said the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners directed one of
their employees, Leia Gearhart, to assist Randolph County with this program as Project
Coordinator. As of July 1, 2023, Ms. Gearhart will become a full-time employee with the County
as a Strategic Program Coordinator and will continue to assist with this settlement program.
The purpose of the meeting is to update and hear from municipalities about the impacts of the
opioid crisis in Randolph County. The opioid settlement has specific restrictions and holds the
County and other agencies responsible for fund use. The allocation for Randolph County is $8.8
million over the next 18 years. There is a Wave Two Settlement that Randolph County is eligible
for as well, which is a little over $7.8 million.
Jennifer Layton, Assistant Public Health Director, shared background information on herself
and her work career. She came to Randolph County in 2021 and she picked up on the opioid
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collaborative when she came to work for the County. Ms. Layton shared the collaborative history,
along with evidence-based data that has been collected throughout the county.
Commissioner Maxton McDowell, asked why numbers on a chart she referenced showed a
decrease during 2020. Ms. Layton said during the 2020 COVID pandemic, the numbers tended to
decrease when it came to data collections. This was mostly due to the resources not being
accessible to those that needed them. However, the numbers have increased now that the pandemic
has ended.
Ms. Gearhart gave an update on the Randolph County Opioid Settlement Funding. The goals
identified were to enhance community efforts to develop and/or explain evidence-based programs
and resources to address opioid use disorder, to build capacity and infrastructures to measure the
impact of programs an prevent fatal overdoses in Randolph County, and to strengthen community
partnerships to improve access to care related to opioid use disorder. These goals will be met by
using existing program support, grant writing skills development and management, data collection
building processes, technical assistance, Opioid Collaborative participation, and
training/workshops for those administering the program.
Mr. Gearhart presented information on the assessment process of the applications received.
Those organizations that were chosen will have accountability such as pre-contract, financial, and
performance accountability.
Commissioner Haywood questioned employment related services. She also stated that some
workplaces are no longer requiring drug testing unless there is an accident. She mentioned that
people using suboxone to overcome their addiction will fail a drug test.
Commissioner McDowell stated that those not in attendance today, should be. It is very
important for people to education themselves on the Opioid Crisis. He recently attended an Opioid
Forum in Durham where he learned a lot about this epidemic. Opioid abuse rewires a person’s
brain. Education is key in getting the public to understand how. He said that what has been shared
has been great, but the information should be put into a context that the general public can
understand.
Commissioner Haywood inquired about post overdose response. Ms. Layton said that currently
she was not aware of one. This could be started with small steps like following up with someone
that overdoses like a community EMS Team to assess abusers and build relationships with them
in order to make sure they are getting the proper help they need.
Zeb Holden, City Manager of Archdale, said that Archdale is seeing a big issue with opioid
abuse, especially along the Interstate 85 corridor. Their addicted population seems to be of a
transient nature.
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Mr. Johnson said that the model Randolph County has of the Opioid Settlement Funding will
be a model duplicated state-wide and nationally for the use of these settlement funds. He also
stated that there needs to be education in the communities so there is a better understanding of the
use of the funds.
Mr. Johnson asked Ms. Layton to give examples of what evidence-based meant. Mr. Layton
gave a brief explanation of what evidence-based meant. She said that evidence-based strategies
have been studied and found to be effective in addressing an issue.
Mr. Johnson asked how does government assist with faith-based treatment programs. Ms.
Gearhart said that the funds are for treatment centered programs.
Ms. Layton stated that churches are already helping people in the community. She gave the
example of a mother that may need childcare while she seeks treatment. Some churches have
programs such as “Mother’s Day Out” that could be used.
Mr. Cox stated that he saw drugs starting to come to rural areas in the 1990s. Before that time,
it appeared to be a problem in larger cities. He also shared a personal story of an addicted family
member that was being enabled by the family.
Chairman Frye gave an update on a faith-based opioid meeting that was held last week. The
speaker at this meeting has a plan for building facilities, but their program will not take anyone
who is not free of drugs.
Ms. Ogburn stated that the needle exchange program was put into place to divert a bad situation
from becoming worse. He also said that giving access to needle exchange could draw a person
closer to asking for help with their addiction.
Mr. Cox suggested that churches could provide transportation to help people get to
appointments.
Mr. Ogburn said there needs to be a treatment plan that involves both treatment and temporary
housing. He commented that many hospitals where started by faith-based organizations.
Ms. Layton asked the municipalities in attendance how they keep their citizens updated. Most
of the responses were the use of social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.).
Mr. Johnson thanked everyone for attending and the meeting adjourned at 10: 47 a.m.
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