Sarah Trafton and Amanda Purcell are reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Columbia and Greene counties are among 15 counties in New York to receive national funding for participation in an opioid study. The goal of the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is to reduce opioid-related deaths by 40 percent over three years. The School of Social Work at Columbia University will work alongside the 15 counties to reduce opioid use, increase medication-based treatment, increase treatment retention beyond six months, provide recovery services and expand the distribution of naloxone. The Greene County Legislature last week approved a resolution authorizing the agreement between the Greene County Community Services Board and Columbia University. The Columbia County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on a similar resolution November 13. Counties qualified for the funding as being the top counties for opioid deaths in the state, board Chairman Matt Murell said. Not a distinction the county is proud of, but officials are grateful for the funds to help solve the problem, Murrell added. In Greene County, mortalities from opioid overdoses have increased "since 2010...from 8.1 per 100,000 to 23.1 per 100,000 in 2017,” Columbia-Greene Addiction and Recovery Coordinator Danielle Hotaling said. “That is a significant increase.” And so far this year, Greene County has had about twice as many overdoses as Columbia County, Hotaling said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.