COLUMBUS, Ohio—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced more than $1.8 billion of federal money that will be used to help combat the opioid crisis in America. 

• The money will go towards expanding access to treatment and supporting near real-time data
• The funds will be awarded over a 3-year period
• The U.S. Surgeon General will join a roundtable discussion in Ohio to discuss a plan to help combat the crisis

Of those funds, $140 million will be awarded to Ohio over a three-year period.

The funds awarded to Ohio are also the third-most in the nation. 

The money will be used specifically to fight opioid addiction by expanding access to treatment and supporting near real-time data on the crisis. 

Newtown Chief of Police Tom Synan is the co-chair of the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition. He said Hamilton County is averaging 50-70 opioid overdoses per week— which is why Ohio desperately needs the funds. 

"I think that Ohio being No. 2 in the country in overdose deaths is significant," Synan said. "No matter what efforts we are putting in right now, we need that help, we need those resources, we need that funding to get out of this epidemic. We are still in emergency mode." 

In addition to the newly awarded funds, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams will join a roundtable discussion on Sept. 5 at Mercy Health-Anderson to discuss a plan to help combat the opioid crisis.