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Map of Collier County, Florida

Collier County,
Florida

Population: 385,980


Collier County has the largest land area of any county in Florida and receives nearly 2 million visitors every year, which adds to its nearly 400,000 year-round population. In 2018, Collier County documented 173 overdoses, 31 of which were fatal. The county has been working with High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) to track overdoses to get an accurate picture of the drug problem. Armed with this information, the county intends to implement a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program with a focus on incarcerated individuals who are more likely to overdose on release because of a diminished threshold for such drugs following their incarceration. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office is using its Building Bridges implementation funding to add a discharge planner in the jail. The discharge planner will work alongside MAT staff members within the jail, as well as make contact with the inmates’ community MAT providers, to notify the treatment providers of the inmates’ anticipated release dates. In addition, the discharge planner will be responsible for making follow-up appointments for the inmates and providing the inmates with their “continuum of care packet” containing information regarding appointments and resources in the community. The addition of a new discharge planner to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office team will ensure a continuity of care for substance use treatment after release into the community.