[ad_1]
The Hawai'i Department of Health has received a $ 8 million federal grant over two years to continue to combat the misuse of opioids in the state.
The problem of opioids continues to spread in the United States and the Hawaii Department of Health has received a $ 8 million federal grant over two years to continue to fight opioid abuse in the state. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that it has provided more than $ 1 billion in specific opioid subsidies to help states fight the crisis in the country.
"No state is immune to this public health problem," said Dr. Bruce Anderson, director of the Hawai'i Department of Health. "This grant is yet another step forward for Hawaii to implement HHS's comprehensive five-part strategy to combat the misuse of opioids in our islands."
According to a survey conducted by the Administration of Addiction and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), which is part of HHS, Americans who started using heroin have halved between 2016 and 2017. The number of Americans using opioid misuse has also decreased for the second year. in a row, and the number of people receiving specialized treatment for heroin consumption has increased.
From January 2017 to August 2018, the amount of opioids prescribed in America decreased by 21%. During the same period, the number of prescriptions filled for naloxone, used to combat opioid addiction, increased by 264%, while the number of prescriptions for buprenorphine, a form of drug-assisted treatment, increased by 16%.
Opioid mortality rates in Hawaii have historically been lower than the national rate. In 2016, there were 77 opioid-related overdose deaths in Hawaii – a rate of 5.2 deaths per 100,000 people. That's less than half the national rate of 13.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
"We should not look at these numbers and lower our guard. We need to keep up the momentum in Hawaii, "said Edward Mersereau, head of the DOH Alcohol and Drugs Division. "In Hawai'i, drug overdose deaths account for nearly one quarter of all fatal injuries, including deaths from prescription opioids."
"In Hawai'i, we all know a relative or friend who has been affected by drug abuse or addiction, including those taking prescribed opioids prescribed for pain relief," said Mersereau. "The social, economic and health disparities in our state, including access to behavioral health care, also make us particularly vulnerable to the abuse of opioids and other drugs."
"This award doubles the level of funding Hawa has received from HHS to fight the opioid crisis and support the prevention of drug abuse," said Edward Heidig, Regional Director, US Department of Health and Human Services. of region IX. "HHS Secretary Azar has accelerated the deployment of unprecedented levels of resources allowing states like Hawai'i to fight opioid-related disorders, a disease that has become a national epidemic."
This is a second round of federal funding for Hawai'i. The Department of Health received a $ 4 million grant for a targeted response on the State of Opioids, which was part of a program created by the 21st Century Cures Act. The grant program is administered by SAMHSA within HHS.
The SAMHSA grant was used to successfully launch a state-wide collaborative effort aimed at developing the plan of action of the Hawaii Opioid Initiative, designed to be a "living document". drugs, such as methamphetamine in Hawaii i.
Mersereau indicated that the majority of funding – about 60% – will go to prevention programs and the rest to treatment and recovery initiatives. "The funds will continue to support the collective efforts of the Hawaii Opioid Initiative and achieve the goals of the Action Plan for the coming year. "I am so proud of the hard work and accomplishments of the past year, but there is still a lot to be done," he said.
Governor David Ige will reconvene a meeting of participants in the Hawai'i Opiate Initiative to review the achievements of the plan over the past year and discuss strategies for the coming year. The meeting will be held at the State Capitol of Hawai'i this week.
The collaborative effort of the Department of Health includes the participation of the Attorney General's Department, the Med-QUEST Division of the Department of Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Division of the Department of Public Security, county police services and many other community groups.
The areas of action identified in the plan include:
- Improve and modernize health care strategies and access to opioid and other drug treatment and recovery services
- Improve prescribing practices among health care providers and health insurance companies for opioid drugs and other potentially addictive drugs;
- Improve system-wide systemic data collection and dissemination to inform decision-making and identify best practices;
- Enhance community programs and public education to prevent the misuse of opioids, such as the Hawai'i Medication Drop Box program launched in July 2018 with the support of the Ministry of the Attorney General, Ministry of Public Safety , Drug The Police Services and Police Services of Hawaii, Maui, Honolulu and Kaua & # 39; i;
- Improve consumer education and prescription risk management through pharmaceutical strategies; and
- Support law enforcement and first responders by providing specialized training and ensuring effective laws and policies. This includes the use of Naloxone to reduce the incidence of opioid deaths due to overdose.
[ad_2]
Source link
