This listening session will include a brief presentation on the background of the Opioid Treatment Program at Spokane Regional Health District and an opportunity for community feedback and questions.
The Spokane Regional Health District has provided Opioid Treatment Services for over 30 years, and has since grown into one of the largest providers of care to people working through opioid addictions in the area. This program uses medication-assisted therapy to help people decrease cravings and withdrawal related to opioid use.
SRHD is currently conducting a feasibility study to answer the question “Would the community be better served if the Opioid Treatment Program at SRHD was run as an independent organization instead of run by public health.”
At their core, Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJ) like the Health District are responsible for a specific set of “Core Foundational Public Health Services” outlined by the Department of Health, which dictate the specific minimum set of programs a LHJ is supposed to work on. Offering direct Treatment Services programs is not actually part of these services. Treatment Services is funded primarily through fee for services. In rare years like 2013 and 2023, Treatment Services needed to dip into the general fund to cover expenses. Currently, SRHD has approximately 1,000 actively enrolled clients, and has a staff of 60. In the last 30 years, the number of providers and treatment options in our community has grown, and it feels important to take time to ask the community for feedback on this piece of SRHD's role in responding to the opioid crisis.
SRHD Administrator Dr. Alicia M. Thompson will be responsible for delivering a recommendation to the Board of Health on whether to separate. If the recommendation is to separate, Dr. Thompson’s priorities are 1) to make sure no one currently in the program loses their services, and 2) to maintain or increase the quality of service delivered. Dr. Thompson has been very clear that she would not put forth a recommendation to separate that included any gap or loss in care for the current clients. It is the Board of Health who will make the ultimate decision. A series of listening sessions is being facilitated by hadley morrow, who will make sure your feedback is recorded and delivered to SRHD leadership. Your attendance is critical to making sure Dr. Thompson's recommendation to the Board of Health is well supported by community feedback.
This listening session is being facilitated by hadley morrow (any pronouns), in partnership with Experience Matters and Range Media, and with the direct support of SRHD leadership to ensure that authentic community voice is included in the recommendation process. This listening session will include a brief presentation on the background of the Opioid Treatment Program at Spokane Regional Health District and then create space for community feedback and questions. There will be options to give spoken or written feedback, and SHRD leadership will be in the room to answer questions. The event will also be livestreamed on the Spokane Public Library YouTube page for you to watch at home, with a survey made available to give your written input from afar. If you have questions about this process, contact hadley morrow at hello@hadley.consulting.
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We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations (i.e. hearing assistance, ASL requests, or other ADA inquiries), email sday@spokanelibrary.org.
For all event information inquiries, email telref@spokanelibrary.org or call 509-444-5300.
Mon, Jul 01 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Tue, Jul 02 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Wed, Jul 03 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Thu, Jul 04 | Closed |
Fri, Jul 05 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sat, Jul 06 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sun, Jul 07 | 12:00PM to 4:00PM |
COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY
66 public computer stations
MEETING & STUDY ROOMS
300 person capacity nxʷyxʷyetkʷ Hall (pronounced: inn-whi-whi-ettk, a Salish word meaning Life in the Water)
256 capacity combined event space on the 1st floor
34 person capacity maker studio
2 conference rooms
2 reservable co-working spaces in the Business Lab
5 study rooms
Media Studios – production studio, recording studio, and video studio
SERVICES
Friends of the Library used book store
New Leaf Café
Business Lab with Bloomberg Terminal & Coworking Space
Computer Lab (Faxing, copying, scanning, printing)
Inland Northwest Special Collections
KYRS Radio
Shimmer (public art) by John Rogers
River Rumpus Children’s Playspace
Serenity Room