A plan was recently approved by the Rock County Board on how the county wants to spend the funds from the National Opioid Settlement.

Public Health Officer Katrina Harwood says they aren’t sure on exact numbers yet, but they expect the portion from opioid distributors to be around 6.5 million dollars, and about another 5 million dollars from retail pharmacies.

Harwood says they plan to use the funds to increase access to higher level treatment for people in Rock County, increase access to sober living facilities, invest in use prevention, and increase access to mental health and substance use treatment within the criminal justice system.

In 2021, Rock County experienced its highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded, with 75.