Cerro Gordo supervisors approve grant from county Opioid Fund for Prairie Ridge methadone treatment program

MASON CITY — The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors has approved a grant from the county’s Opioid Fund for a program at Prairie Ridge Integrated Behavioral Healthcare. The allotment of $54,320 will go towards a new program to help treat those addicted to opioids.

Supervisor Carl Ginapp also serves on the county’s Board of Health.   “Opioid funds are dedicated for very specific uses for treatment and prevention of opioid addiction-type situations. Prairie Ridge came to us with a request for funding for a MAT program, that’s methadone treatment program, that they are going to be starting up at Prairie Ridge.”

Methadone is a medication used in medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, to help people reduce or quit their use of opiates. Prairie Ridge will be hosting a community presentation and listening post about methadone treatment on Wednesday evening at 5:00 in the Mason City Room of the Public Library.

(Correction — As we reported on-air on Tuesday, we stated that Prairie Ridge officials told us that Mitchell County had also approved a $13,473 allotment as part of the project — they have corrected that information to say Mitchell County has not yet voted on approving that grant)