2025 Cure Addiction Now (C.A.N.) - Innovation Award

U.S. overdoses deaths (ODs) declined ~24% in 2024 from 2023.8 While indeed good news, 87,000 people died of ODs that could have been prevented. Disturbingly, the ODs in Galveston County exceed those in larger Texas counties on a per capita basis. Integrated, sustained treatment is needed to reduce ODs,3 however, Texas ranks 51st in access to mental health care with only 4% of substance use disorder (SUD) patients receiving treatment (2023, Mental Health America). Access to FDA-approved medication-assisted therapy (MAT) which is clinically validated to sustain SUD patients in recovery as a component of coordinated care, but available in only 11% of Texas SUD clinics. Recognizing the gap in evidence-based SUD care in our area, we established the Galveston Secure Against Fentanyl Emergency (G-SAFE) Clinic between the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and the non-profit St. Vincent’s Hope Clinic. G-SAFE offers SUD care for men, women and adolescents who otherwise lack access to medical care ands treatment – the indigent, unhoused, uninsured and/or under-insured members of our community. In the first nine months, G-SAFE treated 168 unique SUD patients who return for weekly follow-ups. Opioid use disorder (OUD) was diagnosed in 78% of our current patients who exhibit a high level of childhood trauma and a low quality of life [Adverse Childhood Experiences scale; p