PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island has been awarded $17.1 million in federal funding to combat opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, announced grants totaling $17.1 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These grants aim to help the state reduce overdose deaths through prevention, treatment and recovery efforts, and help the health department better track overdose deaths so authorities have access to data faster.
The number of accidental drug overdose deaths in Rhode Island has continued to decline. According to health officials, there were 314 overdose deaths in 2018, compared with 324 in 2017 and 336 in 2016.
Reed says Rhode Island is making progress and the grants will bolster its efforts.
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