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Harbor Strong Coalition

February 13, 2023Dan Hammock

Home > Harbor Strong Coalition

Harbor Strong Coalition

The Harbor Strong Coalition’s mission is to prevent and reduce substance abuse and related problems to youth, adults, and families by providing leadership, education and community partnerships and promoting a healthy, positive lifestyle.

Grays Harbor County Public Health staff serve as the Harbor Strong Coalition Coordinator.

Learn more

In efforts to expand community awareness regarding youth cannabis and commercial tobacco prevention efforts in our community, we have developed a bilingual community newsletter! . This newsletter will continue to be shared out on a quarterly basis.

English summer Newsletter

boletín de verano español

English Newsletter - April 2023

Spanish Newsletter - April 2023

CLOSED: Request for Proposals for Medication Lock Boxes

This RFP has closed.

Grays Harbor County has issued a “Request for Proposals” (RFP) for the intent of contracting with the lowest bidder to sell medication lock boxes to the County, to later be distributed through the Harbor Strong Coalition and MyTOWN Coalition. The qualified medication lock box supplier will be identified as having interlocking devices available for sale upon request of the County. The qualified supplier will be used to supply medication lock boxes, for a set rate per medication lock box, at a cost not to exceed $40,000 for one (1) year.

This RFP opens February 13, 2023. All applications are due by Tuesday, February 28, 2023 by 4:30pm Pacific Time.

CLICK HERE for the full Request for Proposals document and application.

For questions, please contact Haley Falley at haley.falley@graysharbor.us.

Questions and answers

Do lock boxes need to be individually packaged, or can they be bulk-packaged?
Lock boxes may be packaged individually or packaged in bulk.

Does the product have to be a medication lock box or a medication lock bag?
Grays Harbor County is accepting applications for all types of products that serve the purpose of locking medications securely.

What type of lock is needed for the product you are looking for?
Lockable products by way of a combination lock, key, or padlock are acceptable.

Approximately how many boxes do you expect to buy?

Grays Harbor County will purchase boxes based on the size, type, and cost of each product. This will be determined by the product proposed through the RFP and the cost to each product to not exceed $40,000 for the contract period.

Would you want the quantity to be delivered in one release, or do you expect to make multiple smaller orders over the course of a year?

Funding priorities for the coalitions are subject to change. However, we will likely have a large purchase at the beginning of the contract in addition to multiple small orders over the course of the contract. Our coalitions would like to resupply as soon as possible.

Do you intend to select and order just one size, or do you foresee ordering a variety of sizes?

The size choices of the medication lock boxes will depend on what is proposed by the applicant, product availability, and by price breakdown. Our coalitions have purchased a variety of sizes of lock boxes in the past.

Must each box be keyed differently/uniquely, or can all boxes be keyed alike (meaning that the same key would open any box)?

Our coalitions will not have the capacity to track key codes, keys, or other locking methods for the recipient of the medication lock boxes. The recipient of the product will be in charge of either setting their own key code or maintaining possession of their key or other device method.

categories Reducing drug use

WASHINGTON STATE PROJECT TO PREVENT PRESCRIPTION DRUG/OPIOID OVERDOSE (WA-PDO)

February 14, 2020Grays Harbor County Public Health & Social Services Department

Home > Overdose prevention project

WA-PDO is a statewide network of organizations mobilizing communities, providing overdose response training, and increasing access to naloxone through community programs and systems. This federally awarded grant is administered by the Washington Department of Health and is one of the strategies listed in the State Opioid and Overdose Response Plan under goal 3: Ensure and Improve the Health and Wellness of Individuals That Use Drugs.

This grant specifically seeks to increase access to naloxone for individuals who are at risk of having or witnessing an overdose.

Locally, this project is a collaborative effort between the Department of Health and Willapa Behavioral Health. For more information contact Sean Hemmerle at sean.hemmerle@doh.wa.gov.

The Washington State Project to Prevent Prescription Drug/Opioid Overdose (WA-PDO) was a five-year project implemented by ADAI and many syringe service programs across WA State to provide overdose prevention and response training and distribute naloxone. The project has released a new report describing the results of 5 years of naloxone distribution to people who use opioids and to law enforcement in WA State.

Read the full report here:

https://adai.uw.edu/new-report-wa-state-project-to-prevent-prescription-drug-opioid-overdose-final-report-on-naloxone-distribution/

The WA-PDO project recently received renewal funding through 2026 and is now administered by the WA State Department of Health:

WA State DOH Overdose Education and Naloxone.

Why was Grays Harbor County selected as an Overdose Prevention Project site?

We know that opioid use and overdose is a problem in Grays Harbor County.

Our syringe services program, which began in 2004, exchanged 759,818 needles in 2016.
Grays Harbor County has a higher rate of opioid-related deaths than Washington state as a whole. (Source: Washington State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics.)

The Grays Harbor Overdose Prevention Project will help get people who use opioids into treatment and prevent opioid-related deaths.

Does providing naloxone make people more likely to use drugs?

There is no evidence that giving people naloxone makes them more likely to use more drugs. It does, however, keep them alive to be able to seek treatment when they are ready. Going through withdrawal is painful and unpleasant. Research has shown that people who use heroin and are trained as overdose responders actually use less heroin over time as they assume new “peer leader” roles in their communities.

What is naloxone?

Naloxone is a prescription medicine that temporarily blocks the effect of opioids (heroin, OxyContin, Percocet, dilaudid, fentanyl, methadone, etc.). This helps a person start breathing again and wake up from an opioid overdose. It has no effect on other drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, or benzodiazepines.

Naloxone comes in three different forms: liquid injectable, nasal spray (NARCAN), and auto-injector (Evzio).

What is the purpose of naloxone distribution?

The purpose of this program is to prevent deaths from opioid overdoses. Naloxone is a short-term fix for a complicated problem that can only be addressed if the person is alive.

Who can legally possess naloxone?

Naloxone is a prescription medication. Washington state law (RCW 69.41.095) allows anyone “at risk for having or witnessing a drug overdose” to obtain naloxone and administer it in an overdose situation. Naloxone is not a scheduled or controlled drug so it is safe for anyone to possess.

Can I get in trouble for helping out in an overdose situation?

In Washington state, anyone trying to help in a medical emergency is generally protected from civil liabilities by RCW 4.24.300. Washington state's 911 Good Samaritan Overdose Law RCW 69.50.315 gives additional, specific protections against drug possession charges:

If you seek medical assistance in a drug-related overdose, you cannot be prosecuted for drug possession.
The overdose victim is also protected from drug possession charges.
Anyone in Washington state who might have or witness an opioid overdose is allowed to carry and administer naloxone (RCW 69.41.095).

How can I get naloxone for myself?

Naloxone is currently being distributed at:

Syringe Services Program operated by Willapa Behavioral Health - see www.healthygh.org/directory/syringe for more information.

Washington State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy has signed a standing order for naloxone. This standing order works like a prescription and allows any person or organization in the state to get naloxone from a pharmacy if you or your loved one is at risk of an overdose. Locally, Rite Aid, Safeway, and Walmart participate in this standing order distribution.

If you get naloxone from a pharmacy, you may have to pay a co-pay or deductible, depending on the terms of your health insurance plan.

How will I know how to use naloxone? What training is available?

Training is available to individuals who get naloxone at the syringe services program. Participants are trained to recognize and systematically respond to an overdose. They are also informed about what puts users at risk of overdose and avenues for recovering from addiction.

www.stopoverdose.org has training videos and resources for all lay responders.

Other resources

Download and print the Opioid Needs Assessment and Response Plan, February 2018 (.pdf)

Download and print the meeting summary from the initial stakeholder meeting of the opioid Overdose Prevention Project, May 2017 (.pdf)

Download and print the results of the Opioid Needs Assessment survey, January 2018 (.pdf)

Download and print a document describing local efforts to address the opiate misuse crisis in Grays Harbor (.pdf)

Download and print the Grays Harbor Opioid Needs Assessment Stakeholder meeting minutes from February 22, 2018 (.pdf)

El único video específicamente por estado de WA, esta capacitación describe los riesgos de sobredosis y la Ley del Buen Samaritano del estado de Washington, y muestra una demonstración sobre cómo ayudar en una sobredosis de opioids (incluida la resp… — El único video específicamente por estado de WA, esta capacitación describe los riesgos de sobredosis y la Ley del Buen Samaritano del estado de Washington, y muestra una demonstración sobre cómo ayudar en una sobredosis de opioids (incluida la respiración de rescate y la naloxone). Produced by StopOverdose.org

Download and print the FAQ document (.pdf)

Download and print the Sobredosis de opioides brochure (.pdf)

Download and print the SAMHSA Opioid Overdose Prevention TOOLKIT (.pdf)

Information about Washington State’s standing order for naloxone (website)

Download and print a fentanyl warning sheet (.pdf)

Download and print the Secure Medicine Take Back brochure (.pdf)

categories Reducing drug use

Opioid response

February 10, 2020Grays Harbor County Public Health & Social Services Department

Many people in our community are being affected by opioid use disorder.

If you or someone you know is experiencing opioid use disorder, you can get help.

Need information about treatment options?

Read the full report here:

https://adai.uw.edu/new-report-wa-state-project-to-prevent-prescription-drug-opioid-overdose-final-report-on-naloxone-distribution/

The WA-PDO project recently received renewal funding through 2026 and is now administered by the WA State Department of Health:

WA State DOH Overdose Education and Naloxone.

CLOSED Request for Proposals - Jail Re-Entry Services

Grays Harbor County has issued a “Request for Proposals” (RFP) to interested and qualified agencies, to provide re-entry care coordination services to identified individuals in the County Jail. Through funding from the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) and the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP). Proposals will be accepted through 4:30 p.m. on June 29, 2022.

You can find the full Request for Proposals document here.

Questions contact Wilma Weber at wweber@graysharbor.us or 360-500-4069

CLOSED Request for Proposals - Jail Substance Use Disorder Services

Through funding from the Rural Response to the Opioid Epidemic Grant (RROE) and , Grays Harbor County (the “County”) is soliciting requests for proposals for the purpose of providing SUD services to identified individuals incarcerated in the Grays Harbor County Jail (the “Jail”) to support a continuum of care and path to recovery. Proposals will be accepted through 4:30 p.m. on June 29, 2022.

You can find the full Request for Proposals document here.

Questions contact Wilma Weber at wweber@graysharbor.us or 360-500-4069

CLOSED - Request for Proposals - Re-Entry Care Coordinator

Coastal Community Action Program was awarded the contract for Re-Entry Care Coordinator. Contracted services will begin in January of 2021.

CLOSED - Request for Qualifications - Jail In-Reach SUD Assessments

Three agencies responded to the RFQ and met the criteria for contracting. Columbia Wellness, Lifeline Connections and Medtriq will be awarded contracts to have “in-reach” assessments reimbursed per arrangement.