HomeMy WebLinkAbout082619_ca13 JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Philip Morley, County Administrator
FROM: Julie Shannon,Executive Secretary II
DATE: August 26, 2019
SUBJECT: LETTER OF SUPPORT re: Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
Facility in the Sequim
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
LETTER OF SUPPORT re: Medication Assisted Treatment(MAT) Facility in the Sequim
ANALYSIS:
A request for a letter of support was sent to the Jefferson County Commissioners re: a Medication Assisted
Treatment(MAT) Facility in the Sequim which would include a 16 bed inpatient psych unit that would be a
major regional asset. The goal of this program is to provide residents of Eastern Clallam and Jefferson
counties with range of high quality health services, including mental health, substance abuse treatment,
primary care and dental care, to treat opiate use disorder. This facility will be the first on the Peninsula to
offer full wrap around services in addition to evidence-based MAT.
The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners have been actively involved in the development and
implementation of a coordinated regional plan to address the ongoing opiate crisis in rural Washington. We
applaud and support the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe's successful application for State funding and the
Tribe's commitment of substantial additional resources to construct and operate a state-of-the-art Medication
Assisted Treatment (MAT) facility in the Sequim area.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Review and sign LETTER OF SUPPORT re: Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Facility in the Sequim
RE 1 BY•
4
Morle , Co ty As mimstrator Date
Board of County Commissioners
7SON co S f o� 1820 Jefferson Street
0 �A PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
S ,t0� Kate Dean,District 1 David Sullivan,District 2 Greg Brotherton,District 3
SII NG
August 26, 2019
Mayor Dennis Smith
Sequim City Council
152 W. City Cedar Street
Sequim, WA 98382
Dear Mayor Smith:
The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners have been actively involved in the development and
implementation of a coordinated regional plan to address the ongoing opiate crisis in rural Washington.
We applaud and support the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe's successful application for State funding and
the Tribe's commitment of substantial additional resources to construct and operate a state-of-the-art
Medication Assisted Treatment(MAT)facility in the Sequim area. The goal of this program is to provide
residents of Eastern Clallam and Jefferson counties with range of high quality health services, including
mental health, substance abuse treatment,primary care and dental care,to treat opiate use disorder. This
facility will be the first on the Peninsula to offer full wrap around services in addition to evidence-based
MAT.
Opiate use disorder had reached epidemic proportions on the Olympic Peninsula,resulting in frequent
overdose events, some of them fatal,the spread of communicable diseases, increased criminality, and the
heartbreaking family trauma of a loved one's descent into addiction. Fortunately,this is a very treatable
condition when resources are mobilized and the full range of treatment services are available. This is
exactly what the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe's Health Campus aspires to bring to our rural communities.
We strongly encourage the Sequim City Council to maintain their support for this program and assist the
Tribe as it moves forward in the implementation process. Jefferson County will continue to maintain its
robust public health programs to combat the opiate epidemic and well as primary care based MAT
services. While there will always be community members who use fear and misinformation to stoke
public opposition to expanded MAT access,we want the Sequim City Council to know that Jefferson
County strongly supports this effort. You are indeed fortunate to share jurisdictional boundaries with a
Tribal Nation with the vision and leadership necessary to make this much needed service a reality for the
North Olympic Peninsula.
Sincerely,
Kate Dean, Chair, District 1 David Sullivan, District 2 Greg Brotherton, District 3
Cc: Ron Allen, Chair and CEO,Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
Brent Simcosky, Health Director,Jamestown Family Health Center
Phone(360) 385-9100 Fax(360) 385-9382 jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us