June 26, 2019
This week, the Utah
Opioid Task Force convened for their quarterly meeting to discuss the
opioid crisis in Utah and consider
new programs and resources.
Suicide & Opioid Addiction
Cathy Bledsoe from Hope4Utah
presented to the Opioid Task Force on Hope Squads, a peer suicide prevention
program. Hope Squads are made up of students elected for their
kindness. These students are trained by professionals to watch for at-risk
students and identify warning signs, provide friendship, and seek help from
adults. The Hope Squad model was created in the late 90s by Greg Hudnall, a
principal in the Provo School District who realized that too many lives were
being lost and peers were an important tool in solving the problem. Data from
the Provo School District has shown that these Hope Squads are invaluable in
preventing suicide and that since their creation, student suicides have gone
down. There are now 207 schools in Utah participating in the Hope Squad program,
with new schools joining in all the time.
“Suicide is important to hear and talk about when fighting
the opioid crisis,” said Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes. “It’s reaching
the root of the problem – that people are in pain and trying to get rid of that
pain.”
Along with programs like SafeUT, Hope Squads provide support and
resources to students in Utah. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in
youths ages 10-19. Utah alone is ranked 5th in the nation for
suicide rates.
The Effect of Opioids on Children
Carrie Jensen from the CJC
Program and Allison Smith from RIC-AAU
urged the importance of understanding the effect that opioids have on children.
When their parents are suffering from addiction, children are at a higher risk
for having emotional, cognitive, and behavioral problems. Additionally, Jensen
and Smith discussed the effects that tobacco can have on children. One particularly worrisome issue
is that vape cartridges can be laced with other drugs such as Fentanyl that can
have detrimental effects from addiction to death.
U of U Emergency Opioid Use Disorder Program
Peter Taillac, a Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine
with the University of Utah, and Paula
Cook, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Addiction Medicine with the University
of Utah, presented on the recovery programs provided by the University Neuropsychiatric Institute
(UNI). They explained that
addiction is a chronic illness and needs to be treated this way. Currently,
when opioid users end up in the emergency department due to overdose or a
willingness to get treatment, doctors give them resources and a referral to
treatment, which users rarely follow up on. However, this new model proposes
that emergency room doctors provide opioid addicts with a prescription for
Buprenorphine, a medication that is used to wean users off of opioids, and
schedules a follow-up for the user to meet with counselors at UNI. Users are
also paired up with peer support coaches who have successfully overcome
addiction and are given a case manager. UNI then provides treatment for free to
the user for thirty days, after which they contact a community partner to
provide housing and other resources for recovering addicts. Compared to the
current practice, this model drastically reduces opioid usage of addicts and
increases the number of addicts who continue long-term treatment compared.
While this service is currently only available at the University Hospital,
Professors Taillac and Cook are working with other medical centers to help them
adopt the model.
Best of State – Public Works
This year, the Utah Opioid Task Force was honored to be the
recipient of the 2018 Best
of State Public Works Award. The Best of State Awards recognize outstanding
individuals, organizations and businesses in Utah. More than 100 judges review
the nominations and determine the winners based on achievement in the field of
endeavor, innovation or creativity in approaches, techniques, methods or
processes, and contribution to the quality of life in Utah.
The Utah Opioid Task Force is dedicated to
combatting the opioid epidemic in Utah and works in collaboration with groups
nationally and across the state to address the effects of opioid addiction. You
can help combat the opioid crisis by steering clear of opioids, getting rid of
unused meds, reaching out if you or someone you know is suffering from opioid
addiction, learning to recognize an overdose, and learning how to use a
Naloxone kit. Learn more here.