The Escambia County Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board on Nov. 4 approved a request from Community Health to reallocate previously awarded grant line items without changing the total dollar amount.

Community Health representative Walter told the board the request would (1) convert funds budgeted for a contract physician into support for a physician assistant on staff and asked that change be backdated to the start of the grant term; (2) apply newly obtained Northwest Florida Health Network money to medication coverage so the opioid funds would not be supplanted; and (3) consolidate several 50% FTE positions into single 100% FTE roles to simplify accounting and reporting. "We brought on a new MD and we entered in contracting to expand the core network into Santa Rosa County," Walter said, explaining the reallocation and the FTE consolidation.

The board pressed Community Health on staffing and cost details. Board member Tommy White asked why the reallocation would not instead fund additional treatment personnel and questioned replacing a contracted MD with a PA while overall personnel costs rose. Walter said the initial $100,000 line was for a part‑time contract MD with no fringe; a full‑time MD with benefits would be much more expensive, and the PA would be a 100% position within the core program. He also provided a fringe rate of 28.65 percent, which he said covered FICA, insurance (about 18 percent), retirement (about 3 percent) and workers' compensation (about 3 percent).

Staff had earlier summarized the board'level balances: total opioid-abatement receipts of $5,498,458.51, obligations of roughly $3,000,006.04, and $1,851,096.15 available for the current notice of funding availability. The Community Health reallocation request was presented as a line-item pivot that would not change the award's total.

A motion "to accept the change request" was made and seconded; the board approved the change by voice vote. "All in favor? Aye," the chair called; the board recorded the request as approved.

The board did not direct staff to change the award total and required no additional vote beyond the reallocation approval. Staff noted that any contract adjustments and accounting changes would follow standard contracting and reporting procedures.

Provenance: The Community Health request and Walter's explanation appear in the meeting record beginning at 00:06:21 (introduction of the request) and the board vote concluding the item is recorded at 00:12:41 (voice vote approving the request).