Opioids are powerful drugs that can relieve pain, but have proven fatal when misused. U.S. deaths involving opioids are rising, and the resulting health crisis is referred to as the opioid epidemic. People are dying in numbers that exceed the death toll seen during the peak of the AIDS epidemic.
In response to the effects of the epidemic, a task force has been created and an event to generate conversation concerning the issue has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 15 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at CAPPS Center in Stoneville.
David Trewolla, Opioid Coordinator for the Department of Mental Health, will be the guest speaker.
Sha’Ketta Davis, Project Director with Delta Health Alliance, said the event will share best practice information, explore alternative methods to treating pain and collaborate efforts to attack the opioid epidemic.
“In 2016, Mississippi had the fourth highest rate of opioid prescriptions in the U.S. at a rate of 105.6 prescriptions per 100 people. And while our service area is lower than the state average (opioid usage tends to be higher in urban areas), our rate of 99.7 per 100 is still 150% higher than the national average of 66.5 per 100 people,” Davis said.
“It is also noteworthy to realize that our eight counties represent 8.6% of all counties in Mississippi (out of the total of 92), yet we account for 8.8% of all EMS Naloxone administrations, and 13.3% of all suspected overdose deaths from January through September 2017 in Mississippi, despite being primarily a rural area,” she continued.
According to data from DHA, local high school students having ever used cocaine, meth, heroin, or prescription drugs was 13.0%, up from 9.7% the previous year, and those ever having abused prescription drugs, pills specifically, was 10.5%, up from 8.7%.
Davis said forming the task force to fight opioids was critical.
“The rural communities of the Mississippi Delta - communities that have faced significant disparities in income, education, health and wellness for generations - are struggling with an epidemic of opioid misuse and addiction,” she said.
“Our families are being torn apart, and our court systems are overwhelmed, while the few treatment programs and recovery support systems we have tried to accommodate a demand for services that far outstrips our capacities,” Davis continued. “Individual initiatives and quick fixes will not create lasting solutions to the problem. Our region demands a comprehensive, well-researched and considered strategy, that involves not only healthcare providers but also the court systems, social service programs, city governments, faith-based leaders, school administrators and members of the communities we serve.”
Delta Health Alliance aims to be among the leading organizations from across sectors that have combined efforts to form the Delta Opioid Taskforce 1 (DOT 1). This Taskforce is committed to the development of impactful, collaborative strategies to address the opioid epidemic in our rural communities of the Mississippi Delta.
The Taskforce has already been successful in identifying relevant community needs and cataloging existing resources.
“We are working to make informed policy recommendations and proposed strategies,” Davis said.
Strategies include establishing a system to help patients and clinicians make better-informed health decisions about how to treat and manage persons who interact with local or district court systems with a finding of opioid use or addiction.
The task force also aims to improve substance abuse outcomes by developing strategies to engage patients in selecting specific behavioral health services with regular primary care and is developing policy recommendations to reduce access to opioids in rural communities and promote alternatives to opioids for patients who could are clinically eligible for other pain management treatment options.
“We are excited about the progress we have already achieved and look forward to growing the alignment of community partners and resources as we continue our march forward to create a healthier Mississippi Delta,” Davis said.
The service area includes Bolivar, Coahoma, Leflore, Sharkey, Tunica, Tate andWashington.
Partners involved at Parkwood Behavioral Health Systems, Leland Medical Clinic, Region One/Fairland Treatment Center, 4th District Drug Court, 11th District Drug Court, Arms of Mercy, Washing County Sheriff’s Department, Leland Police Department, Mississippi Public Health Institute, DRMC, BreakThru Withdrawal Management Program, MS State Extension, MS Rural Health Associations, Life Help/Region VI, Capps Center and Freedom in Christ Ministries, Mount Calvary of Metcalfe.
For more information call Sha’Ketta Davis at 662.390.6666 or visit deltahealthalliance.org.
