Ark Valley Overdose Action & Prevention

12/27/2021

Otero County Health Department to pursue $1 million grant to combat substance use with nonprofit

The drug overdose crisis is active in Otero and Crowley counties. Substance use disorders (SUD) are eroding lives within rural southern Colorado, as well as in other rural communities throughout the United States, because at-risk populations have limited resources, prevention strategies or treatment and recovery service options.

Stigma is also believed to be a risk factor. It exists where there is little sympathy for those experiencing SUD. It is not an overstatement to say that the distribution channels for addiction-prone substances, including prescription medications, in combination with the stigma that pervades many communities, has left those experiencing SUD with limited support to pursue a life defined by recovery and career opportunities.

Compared with the rest of the state, southern Colorado has been disproportionately impacted by the substance use crisis. Otero County overdose deaths were 2.35 times higher per 100,000 people than the overall rate in Colorado in 2019. Methamphetamine overdose deaths were 5.38 times higher; drug overdose acute hospital admissions were 2.29 times higher and ER visits were 1.36 times higher. While opioid related death rates and prescribing volumes were going down in 2019, overdose deaths from methamphetamine and other psychostimulants increased dramatically from 2018 to 2019 for Otero County, representing 62.5% of overdose deaths in 2018 and 75% in 2019.

To help the Otero County Health Department (OCHD) find sustainable solutions, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE) partnered with Crowley, Otero and Conejos counties and The Schreiber Research Group (TSRG) in 2020 on a Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP)-Planning grant funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). This grant aims to reduce illness and death resulting from SUD in high-risk rural communities. The planning phase (October 2020 to February 2022) prepares rural communities to implement sustainable prevention, treatment and recovery services. The project’s primary goal was to uncover the specific issues faced by Crowley, Otero, and Conejos counties that impede progress in addressing SUD.

Upon completion of the planning phase, the project team has been strengthening the collaborative to find community partners such as individuals with SUD, advocates for those with SUD, law enforcement, emergency services, school districts, medical providers, treatment and recovery providers, social services and the county coroner. OCHD will work closely with TSRG and a state-funded grant writer to apply for the HRSA Implementation grant. This grant, if awarded, would include a $1 million, three-year budget aimed at reducing the illness and death from SUD in Crowley, Otero and Conejos counties.

The goal is to strengthen the community partnerships, increase access to services and reduce stigma so that those experiencing SUD are given a support structure to pursue a life defined by recovery and a brighter future.

11/16/2021

According to Merriam-Webster the definition of addiction is “an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something”. That is an extremely simple definition of a very complex phenomenon. I have been asked to explain, in laymen’s terms, the phenomenon of addiction. It is my hope that if we can increase our understanding of what actually happens in the addiction process then we might be able to reduce the stigma associated with it and, as a community, reach out to help those in need.
It is important to note, that as a health care provider, everything I do must be evidenced based. In other words no unsupportable statements are allowed. If this were a scholarly work, I would support my assertions with citations of evidence sources from which I draw my conclusions. I am not going to do that here today as I think it would be unnecessarily wordy and long. However, if anyone has an interest in the topic, I would be glad to discuss with you the evidence sources that inform my statements.
As with most behavioral or psychiatric diagnoses, addiction is actually based on a distortion of a natural process. We live with addictions every day. Our brains compel us to do things with the intent of keeping us alive, healthy and ensuring the continuation of the species. The most obvious examples would be eating, drinking and breathing. As I said before, our brains compel us to do these things. We would die if we didn’t. What most people think of as “addiction” occurs when this process becomes distorted and involves something that is not needed to stay alive…but the brain thinks it does. So, the first point I would like to make is that harmful addiction is a distortion of a neurological process designed to keep us alive.
This process is driven by three primary chemicals (neurotransmitters) in our brains, dopamine, acetylcholine and glutamate. Dopamine and acetylcholine are the neurotransmitters involved with the experience of pleasure. When we do something we really like, we are experiencing increased dopamine / acetylcholine activity. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we will become addicted to it. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that is a very powerful mediator of human learning and is the ingredient necessary for addiction In analogy, if you were sitting on your couch and became thirsty, if it wasn’t for glutamate you would sit there and die of thirst…no matter how good that water would be. Glutamate supplies the impulse necessary to satisfy the need.
Some people become addicted easily, others, not so easy. According to current addiction theory, addiction occurs when there is sufficient repetition and a genetic makeup that allows glutamate to become easily involved and mediate learning. So, the second point I would like to make is that addiction is a brain thing, not a substance thing. We can, and do, become addicted to all kinds of things. We are the most psychologically manipulated society in the history of mankind.
Our television commercials are designed to have dopamine targets and hopefully influence behavior. Our cell phones are designed to emit light that has dopamine targets in hopes of keeping you looking at it. In my view, cell phones and sugar are the biggest addictions in the United States. If you don’t believe me, look around. Or, try to get your teenager to put their smart phone down for a day. So, if you are the type of person who thinks it could not happen to you…it likely already has. Like I mentioned before, this is a natural process in human beings.
There is a second and third part to this series on addiction. I hope I have the opportunity to present the second installment entitled…”Chemical Slavery”.
Thanks for reading.
Kevin Harsh, DNP Ryon Medical & Associates

10/07/2021

https://www.samhsa.gov/blog/helping-your-children-build-resilience-substance-use

For many parents having their child return to school feels more significant this fall, with many schools opening for in-person learning following COVID-19 related closures or disruptions over the past 18 months. And while schools adapted to bring students back into the school building, parents and s...

10/07/2021

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Vaccines to prevent opioid overdoses have the potential to change the opioid epidemic. An opioid vaccine is currently in the trial phase to test effectiveness.

09/27/2021

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05/12/2021

04/26/2021

Coming soon to La Junta. For more information call Arlene Cooke at 719-241-4446

04/19/2021

Otero/Crowley County Health Department is using best efforts to improve lives in our county by making a small difference everyday. Click the link to see our latest work.

https://www.lajuntatribunedemocrat.com/story/news/2021/02/10/crowley-otero-health-department-receives-91-911-grant-fund-opioid-fight/4460204001/

03/03/2021

An opioid overdose can happen even if someone is taking prescription opioids as directed. NARCAN (naloxone) is a FDA approved nasal treatment for known or suspected opioid overdoses.

Otero County Health Department has free NARCAN nasal spray on hand in both the La Junta and Rocky Ford offices. If interested in having NARCAN in your possession, or have any questions, please call 719-241-4446.