Understanding that this is larger than the efforts of one agency, the Portsmouth City Health Department’s Office of Injury Prevention has sought out community, state, and federal partners to collaborate to ensure that comprehensive and innovative solutions are being implemented.
Currently, the Portsmouth City Health Department and Office of Injury Prevention can count among its many collaborative partners the Ohio Department of Health, Scioto County Collaborative Opioid Consortium, Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, Shawnee State University, Appalachian Regional Commission, the ADAMHS Board of Adams, Lawrence, and Scioto Counties, the Scioto County Health Coalition, Faith in Public Life, many faith leaders and churches, multiple criminal justice and law enforcement agencies and representatives, treatment facilities, local businesses, and private citizens. It is through this collective response that the greatest impact is provided.
The Office of Injury Prevention at the Portsmouth City Health Department is funded by the Ohio Department of Health, Violence and Injury Prevention Section through the Injury Prevention: Drug Overdose Prevention grant.
As a part of this grant, the Office of Injury Prevention has also been able to join the Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership (OIPP) and the Ohio Overdose Prevention Network (OOPN) and the state Harm Reduction Subcommittee. This grant and the connections made through these affiliations have been instrumental in reducing the burden of risk throughout the community and the related injury and violence associated with that burden.