Overdose Deaths Decreased but Suicide Deaths Increased in Geauga in 2024
Geauga County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board (GC-MHRS) - Regular Meeting - February 19, 2025
Meeting Details: GC-MHRS Board held a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6 pm at the Board offices located at 13244 Ravenna Rd., Chardon, OH 44024. This meeting was in person only with no recording available. The agenda was available through a request to Office/Administrative Manager Teresa Slater by email at tslater@geauga.org.
Public Comment Policy: No formal policy but in practice, public comment is permitted at the end of the meeting.
Board Members Attending: Chair Steven Oluic, Secretary Jimmy Lee Holden, Treasurer Michael Petruziello and Board Members Reba Dykes, Kathy Johnson, Douglas Lundblad, and Patricia Varanese
Board Members Absent: Vice Chair Alberta Chokshi and Board Members Carolee Lesyk and Mary Ruth Shumway
Staff Members Attending: Executive Director Christine Lakomiak, Finance Director Jim Mausser and Office/Administrative Manager Teresa Slater. Clinical/Compliance Manager Michelle Maneage was not present.
Others Attending: Agency representatives: Mary Wynne-Peaspanen (Signature Health), Melanie Blasko (Lake Geauga Recovery Center - LGRC), Kristine Frankenberry (NAMI Geauga), Kristy Mowry (Red Tulip Project), and Vicki Clark (Ravenwood). A reporter from the Geauga Maple Leaf, several members of the public and this LWVG Observer also attended.
Call to Order, Roll Call, and Pledge of Allegiance occurred as listed on the agenda. The meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm.
Minutes: Minutes for the January 13, 2025 special meeting and January 15, 2025 regular meeting were approved. Minutes are available on the Board’s webpage here.
Chairman’s Report: Dr. Oluic said that he didn’t have much to report except that the building is progressing. Observer Note: This was an apparent reference to the Transitional Living Center renovation that is currently ongoing.
Executive Director’s Report: Ms. Lakomiak discussed the following:
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HB 96 - This budget bill will be finalized before June. Amounts for Ohio Behavioral Health (the new name for Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services(MHAS)) currently show increases for 2026, but the details will not be known until June. Ms. Lakomiak said that the priorities for funding appear to be the same. Observer Note: There was nothing on the Ohio MHAS website to indicate the change of name.
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Requests for Proposals (RFPs) - Ms. Lakomiak said that they will be publishing these on Friday and they are to be returned by agencies by March 28. She said that contracts will be issued before June 30,2025. Priorities will be in line with the State priorities.
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Suicide and Overdose Statistics - Both the State and Geauga MHRS are keeping track of these statistics. In Geauga suicide rates were:
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2020: 14 suicides
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2021: 9 suicides
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2022: 16 suicides
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2023: 9 suicides
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2024: 14 suicides
The most common method for commiting suicide was by firearm at 57%. The average age was
55 and majority of suicides were by men.
Statistics for overdoses resulting in death showed a decrease in 2024. These numbers are:
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2020: 12 overdoses
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2021: 19 overdoses
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2022: 7 overdoses
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2023: 11 overdoses
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2024: 6 overdoses
The average age of the overdosing individuals was 49, and overdoses were equally split between men and women (50% for each). Nearly 80% of overdoses involved some type of fentanyl.
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Priorities for Funding will be:
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Preventing overdose
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Increasing access to suicide prevention
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Increasing treatment of addiction
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Promoting resiliency
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Continuum of care utilizing community resources
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There was a discussion of what is driving overdoses with various Board members stating that there were a variety of factors.
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Ms. Lakomiak said that she met with new County Commissioner Carolyn Brakey, and they talked about suicide and overdose prevention. Ms. Lakomiak mentioned to Ms. Brakey that Ohio Revised Code has provisions for two boards that could be formed that would study suicide and overdose deaths with different mandated agencies represented in order to get a full picture of each such occurrence. Dr. Oluic felt that the GC-MHRS could conduct their own studies, but it was agreed by several board members that having the different service providers and others such as law enforcement at the table would help to get a clearer picture. Ultimately, here was no decision or recommendation made.
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NAMI staff member Scott Smith will be presenting information on suicide prevention, but details on this presentation’s location and timing were not discussed.. There is going to be a new website (Geaugalive.org) for suicide prevention. This name was chosen by the Suicide Prevention Coalition. See additional information here.
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Ms. Lakomiak said that they have received a grant to provide AMSR (Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk) training, and there is a training scheduled at the end of the month.
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Ms. Lakomiak said that staff member Michelle Maneage has completed the Medicaid necessity audits and no paybacks will be required as there were no ineligible claims. Ms. Maneage had noted that agencies are using the best practices that had been recommended in past years, including using a photo ID on the facesheet. Further, Ms. Lakomiak stated that annual ISPs (Individual Service Plans) have been conducted according to schedule.
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Ms. Lakomiak said there would be a First Responder Fellowship event the next day. She said that the University Hospital Geauga President will be the keynote speaker and noted that he is himself a first responder. The event will include free health screenings. The last time GC-MHRS hosted a first responder event, 40 individuals attended.
Committee Reports
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Programs and Policies - Chair Kathy Johnson said that they did not meet but would be meeting in March
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Fiscal and Capital - Chair Reba Dykes said they also did not meet but would meet in March,
Board Review and Action Items - All Approved Unanimously
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Resolution 25-02-2 Landlord Incentive Program Allocation - Ms. Lakomiak said that they applied last year for the first time and received this incentive grant for landlords, but they haven’t had any success in getting landlords interested. This program provides funds for landowners who rent to individuals who get discharged from a mental health facility or from incarceration. The amount received does not exceed $5,000. This allocation is a carryover from last year. Board member Michael Petruziello questioned why they applied again since the funds weren’t used, and Mr. Mausser said that they didn’t apply but the State awarded the money. Various ways of reaching out to landlords to inform them were discussed.
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Resolution 25-02-3 Amendment to the Recovery Housing Program - Ohio MHAS (Mental Health and Addiction Services) has allocated an additional $4,266 for administrative expenses for the Recovery Housing Program. These funds will be distributed to Ravenwood ($3,242) and Lake/Geauga Recovery ($1,024).
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Resolution 25-01-4 Amendment to the SFY2025 System of Care FFC (Family First Council) Allocation - Ms. Lakomiak said that this was an adjustment to the allocation to Family First from $275,000 to $137,500. She said that, due to the drop in the numbers of children placed, they won't need about half of their allocation. A question was raised as to what would be done with these funds, and Ms. Lakomiak said that the additional funding approved in January for Ravenwood was one use for this money.
Credit Card Policy - This was presented to the Board for discussion by Director Lakomiak. Several questions were raised, in particular about the number of employees who would receive credit cards, the maximum for each transaction and the total amount that could be authorized. There were also questions about the types of purchases that could be authorized, with a question as to whether furniture should be on the list. Ms. Lakomiak said that the list of items is directly from Ohio Revised Code. It was decided that the Board would study the policy and that Ms. Lakomiak would have recommendations on the above questions to bring to the Board.
Financial Reports - Mr. Mausser reported the January 2025 totals as follows:
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The Board SFY2025 (7/1/24-6/30/25) office budget is through January and they have expended 51.2% of the budget.
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The County calendar year (1/1/25-12/31/25) expenses were just over $711,000 through January
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The Auditor Fund Balance (January unencumbered balance) was just over $2.6 million.
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Voucher recap for January was $711,493.
Old Business - There was a question about the status of the generator. Mr. Mausser said that when they ordered the generator they knew it would be 3-4 months wait time, but that everything was signed and in order.
New Business - Ms. Lakomiak noted that due to the pause in Federal grant funds that they had lost access to grant websites, but that they have been restored.
Public Comments:
Dr. Oluic asked if there was any anxiety about potential cuts from the Federal Government. Ms Clark, President and CEO of Ravenwood, said that they are waiting to see what happens and said there was some anxiety. It was noted by Ms. Clark that if Medicaid funding goes away that everything they have been talking about will be upended. It was suggested that Congressman Dave Joyce might be a good person to contact about this.
Announcements of upcoming events:
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Veterans’ Resource Fair - This will be held on July 30 at Guido’s in Chesterland. There will be many agency partners.
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Senior Resource Fair - This is scheduled for June 4 and will have the Chardon Polka Band. They have 30 agencies lined up to come now and expect to have 40. There will be a speaker talking about scams. Observer Note: Additional information about this event will be provided in future observer reports as it becomes available.
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Alumni Event for Lake Geauga Recovery - This will be a sober St. Patrick’s Day event on March 14 in Painesville Township.
Ms. Lakomiak thanked the Board for the time and energy they give and for constantly advocating for the work that they do.
Meeting adjourned at 6:55 pm.
Board Minutes: Available at https://www.geauga.org/board-minutes/
Next meeting: The next meeting will be the regular meeting on March 19, 2025 at 6 pm. Meetings are held at the Board offices located at 13244 Ravenna Rd., Chardon, OH 44024.
More Information: https://www.geauga.org/
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor & Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: February 23, 2025
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