Statewide Iowa — The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is granting one-point-two million dollars to Goldfinch Health to help cut the distribution of opioids in Iowa hospitals.
A program called the Billion Pill Pledge will work with up to 25 medical facilities statewide to reduce the number of opioids prescribed for medical procedures. Attorney General Brenna Bird says she’s meeting with lawmakers to discuss other uses of the opioid settlement funds.
Iowa is set to receive millions of dollars from drug manufacturers in the coming years. About half will be given to local governments and half will be placed in a state opioid settlement fund.
Bird says a staggering number of Iowans’ first exposure to opioids is after surgery.
For others, Bird says opioids act as a gateway drug that leads to more harmful substances. A state report shows 470 lives were lost to drug overdoses in Iowa in 2022, while among Iowans age 25 and younger, overdose deaths surged 120-percent in recent years.
