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Opioid abuse awareness effort announced at McKay-Dee Hospital

By Doug Gibson, Standard-Examiner Staff - | Sep 1, 2016
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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opioid abuse and increase awareness of risks for opioid users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opioid abuse and increase awareness of risks for opioid users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opioid abuse and increase awareness of risks for opioid users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opiod abuse and increase awareness of risks for opiod users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opiod abuse and increase awareness of risks for opiod users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opiod abuse and increase awareness of risks for opiod users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opioid abuse and increase awareness of risks for opioid users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opiod abuse and increase awareness of risks for opiod users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

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McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opiod abuse and increase awareness of risks for opiod users in Ogden on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.

OGDEN — Steven Young had several thousands prescription pill bottles ready for use. The Sandy artist, 23, just had to brainstorm for ideas.

His task was to create a work of art that symbolized a major effort to reduce dependency on prescription opiate drugs.

“Right after we got off the phone my mind was racing,” he said. The art project lasted more than two weeks, and with 10 to 12 assistants.  

“We had people working around the clock…with drill presses in the kitchen and pill bottles everywhere,” Young said.

RELATEDSeminar to focus on opioid abuse awareness

On Wednesday morning, Aug. 31, Young’s art was displayed above attendees at the main entrance of McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden. The art piece includes 7,000 pill bottles.

“That’s the number of pill bottles prescribed in Utah every single day,” said Mikelle Moore, vice president, Community Benefit, at Intermountain Healthcare, who spoke at a news conference announcing a new initiative to reduce opioid abuse and increase awareness of risks for opioid users.

Story continues below photo.

BRIANA SCROGGINS, Standard-Examiner file photo

McKay-Dee Hospital held a press conference announcing its initiative to reduce opioid abuse and increase awareness of risks for opioid users in Ogden on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. Posters and a chandelier made out of 7,000 pill bottles decorates the lobby. According to the hospital, Utahns fill 7,000 opioid prescriptions a day.

The hospital, Weber Human Services, Use Only As Directed, and Bonneville Communities That Care joined Wednesday to encourage patients to talk with their doctors and find alternatives to opioid painkillers.

OPIOID CASES ARE ‘UBIQUITOUS’ 

Dr. Thomas Wood, an emergency room physician at McKay-Dee, recalled the first opiate overdose case he dealt with 20 years ago.

“It was early-morning and a father burst through the doors carrying his 18-year-old son,” he said.

That young man survived, Wood said, and it was a rare case to see two decades ago.

But not anymore. Today, not a shift goes by in the emergency room without an opioid case. “The problem is ubiquitous,” he said.

About a third of adults in Utah receive an opioid prescription, Wood said. The use has skyrocketed the past 18 years because doctors were told they were under-treating pain. Also, doctor and hospital compensation can be enhanced through prescribing opioids.

“The number of pills prescribed exceeds the number used by 500 percent,” Wood said.

It’s being abused, he said, adding that he’s seeing more babies being born addicted to opiates.

A MOMENT OF SILENCE

During the presentation, Chris Dallin, director of communications for Intermountain Healthcare’s north region, led attendees in a moment of silence for the many who have died from prescription drug overdoses. 

About 49 Utahns die from a drug overdose every month, according to the Utah Department of Health. The majority of those are caused by prescription opiates.

Nicholas Call, a recovered addict and licensed social worker in Salt Lake City, told attendees of his several-year battle with painkillers. In 2004, Call, with a family, home and a good job, was prescribed 30 Lortab pills after he pulled a muscle in his back playing softball. “(My doctor told me), ‘we need to treat the pain aggressively,'” Call said.

“Sure, it helped my back but it also made my body feel better,” Call said. With a 10-day prescription, he began to take the drug to keep feeling better. 

“I was physically dependent on the opioid pain pills,” Call said.

That started an addiction journey that led him to doctors and to the streets to find opiates. “I lost everything,” he said.

Twelve years ago, there was no conversation with his doctor about tapering off the prescription drug. “I wish at that time the doctor had had the conversation with me,” Call said.

Kevin Eastman, executive director of Weber Human Services, and Matthew Bell, Weber County commissioner, also spoke at the event. Eastman told attendees that in parts of Ogden the drug overdose rate is twice that of Utah’s, which is fourth in the nation. 

“We will never treat ourselves out of this problem,” Eastman said, who is grateful for the collaborative effort.

Bell, who serves on a national task force to fight drug abuse, talked of communities’ responsibilities to have continued care for persons battling opiate addiction. For example, when a person leaves jail there needs to be another location to help the individual fight addiction, he said.

Craig PoVey of the Utah Division of Substance. Abuse and Mental Health told attendees how he had limited his use of prescription opiates after a recent biking injury. He discovered alternative non-opioid pills worked fine after a few days.

THREE WAYS TO PREVENT OPIATE ABUSE

IHC’s Moore spoke of three themes organizers hope people take from the event. “Speak Out,” “Opt Out” and Throw Out” are reminders to speak with your doctor, learn about alternatives to opioids and to throw away unused pills.

She reminded attendees of the 7,000 prescriptions a day in Utah.

“With that many pills in our community, there’s a lot of people at risk,” Moore said.

A generation ago, painkillers were pushed onto the industry. Opioids went from being only for cancer patients to treating all kinds of pain, Wood told the Standard-Examiner.

The pharmaceutical industry jumped on an effort to get more opioids prescribed. It created a problem that “still persists to this day,” he said.

dgibson@standard.net

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