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Efforts to battle opioid crisis are 'starting to pay off' in Will County, officials say

The SouthtownStar - 5/15/2018

May 15--The number of opioid-related deaths has risen steadily in Will County in the past few years, but officials at a forum on the problem said progress has been made in tackling what they called a "public health crisis."

In 2017, the Will County coroner's office recorded its highest number of deaths related to heroin and fentanyl (a more potent synthetic opioid) -- 85, up from 78 the previous year.

"It is easy to get discouraged, but progress has been made. Your work has started to pay off. You have saved lives," said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Will County's 7th Annual Hero Helps Community Summit was sponsored by the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization, Will County Heroin Education Leads to Preventative Solutions, and the Southwest Coalition for Substance Abuse Issues last Friday at the Edward Hospital Athletic and Event Center in Romeoville.

Several speakers outlined efforts undertaken by Will County and the state of Illinois to address the opioid epidemic on many levels, noting that it will take a community-wide effort to solve the crisis.

Featured speaker Laura Porter outlined how the "piling up" of adverse childhood experiences from one generation to the next, can lead to health issues, substance abuse, suicide, unemployment, homelessness and divorce.

This "vicious cycle" can be broken by a caring community, but it will take a "cultural shift," she said."Communities are powerful," Porter said, and she called on people to be kind, help each other, and support those "who are difficult to support."

"We can change the way we relate to each other day by day. We can create a culture with a lot less adversity," she said.

Cindy Davis, a social worker who was attending the forum for the first time, said that after hearing Porter, she believes "there is hope."

She also was encouraged that state officials have been working on this opioid problem.

Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, who co-chairs the Illinois Opioid Task Force, said the group's goal is to reduce opioid deaths by one-third in three years.

The statistics are "startling, shocking and hurtful," she said, citing that last year, more than 63,000 Americans died from drug overdoses -- most from opioids and prescription painkillers.

In Illinois, opioids killed twice as many people as vehicular accidents, she said.

"It's imperative that we act as a community," she said.

Other members of the task force, Dr. Shah and Maria Bruni, assistant secretary of programs for the Illinois Department of Human Services, highlighted their recent efforts in the state that:

--Recently expanded access to care for Medicaid recipients by allowing Medicaid to pay for critical services that previously were not reimbursable through the state's program. The state also got a waiver to lift the limit of 15 beds in a treatment facility.

--Established a 24/7 hotline, 833-234-6343, to provide help and information for those in need.

--Launched a mandatory prescription monitoring program.

--Limited opioid prescriptions to seven days instead of 30.

--Began a pilot program of medication-assisted treatment to prison inmates with substance abuse disorders

--Will County was part of that effort, and of 78 inmates who received MAT, all but one have entered a treatment program after their release, officials said.

The county also has:

--Trained 200 people to use Narcan, an opioid antidote.

--Worked with Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox to be the first hospital in the county to participate in the "warm hand-off" program, which has counselors and recovery coaches on duty to transition an emergency room patient into substance abuse treatment.

--Helped launch Safe Passage programs in local police departments, where those with substance abuse disorders can turn themselves in for treatment without being arrested.

--Joined other counties in filing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies.

--Prosecuted 17 people for drug-induced homicides in the past seven years.

Barton Firzpatrick, of Optimal Healthcare Group, in Chicago, which has been serving opioid patients for 20 years, said he liked the "collaboration" Will County has in fighting this issue.

"We don't have that in Cook County," he said.

"We have made great strides, but we must keep working together to someday find a solution to this terrible issue," Will County Executive Larry Walsh said. He formed HELPS after meeting Brian Kirk and John Roberts, who lost their sons to heroin addiction.

Since the day of his son's funeral in 2009, Kirk said his goal has been to raise awareness to this problem.

"We did not want other parents to go through this," he said.

He teamed up with Roberts to form HERO, and they held their first event eight years ago, passing out information in the parking lot of Menard's in Homer Glen. The following year, Will County joined the effort, which now draws hundreds to this annual summit.

"We feel like we made a difference. We have made progress in raising awareness, but the problem has gotten worse. There are more deaths due to fentanyl now," he said.

According to Shah, fentanyl remains a "growing threat."

"For the first time, more deaths are caused by fentanyl than prescription opioids," he said.

"We have seen a tenfold increase in fentanyl-related deaths. The threat cannot be overstated. With heroin, death occurs within hours; with fentanyl, death can occur within minutes," Shah added.He encouraged the crowd to "keep persevering."

"There's a very long road ahead of us. We need to make continued steady progress. I'm asking you to stick with it," Shah said.

slafferty@tribpub.com

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