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Sauk County Public Health to benefit from $1 million grant

A $1 million grant will help Sauk County serve residents who are struggling with opioid and other substance addictions.

The State Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration awarded the grant to MetaStar, in partnership with Sauk County Public Health. The money will go toward strengthening and expanding prevention, treatment and recovery services for addicts.

The grant is part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.

MetaStar Chief Executive Officer Jesi Wang said the grant will be instrumental in addressing a serious problem.

“MetaStar has a long history of improving the quality of health and health care for Wisconsinites,” Wang said in a statement. “We’re ready to leverage this experience and address the opioid crisis head-on in Sauk County, which in 2019 was in the bottom 20 percent of Wisconsin counties for opioid-involved drug overdose deaths and hospital encounters.”

To ensure best uses for the grant, a consortium has been formed comprised of representatives from across the county. Entities represented include MetaStar, Sauk County Public Health, Baraboo Police Department, Reedsburg Police Department, Dells-Delton EMS Commission, Ho-Chunk, Lutheran Social Services, Merrimac Fire and Rescue, Reedsburg Area Ambulance Service Commission, Reedsburg Area Medical Center, Satori House Recovery, Sauk Prairie Healthcare, SSM Health St. Clare Hospital-Baraboo and WisHope.

Sauk County Health Educator Ethan Borchardt said the addiction crisis has reached frightening levels. Last year was the worst on record for opioid overdose deaths in Sauk County, he said.

The reason for Sauk County’s growing drug problem is attributed to a handful of factors, including its industry and location. Sauk County has a large tourism-based economy with many people arriving and departing. There is also Interstate 90/94, a major corridor between the Twin Cities and Chicago, which allows opoiods, meth, cocaine, marijuana and other drugs to proliferate.