 A mobile unit providing drug treatment will soon be offered in St. Joseph County by their health department. The mobile unit is roughly the size of an ambulance, and will house a social worker, a public health nurse, a recovery coach and a physician. This team will provide on-the-spot treatment and counseling for opioid use disorder, as well as connect patients to other resources in the community that may help their recovery. St. Joseph County Health Department hopes to have the mobile unit operational by the end of the month. The mobile unit will travel to designated areas set by the health department and will use the naloxone hot-spot map as one of the tools to help determine the high-need areas.
The Police, Treatment and Community Collaborative released their latest research brief boiling down their most current results from pre-arrest diversion programs, which are listed below:
- Pre-Arrest Diversion represents the first intercept with the criminal justice system, making it a prime opportunity to redirect adults with mental health conditions and substance use disorders (SUDs) from jails;
- The majority of adults booked into local jails require mental health services and treatments for SUDs, which are typically not provided in local facilities;
- Behavioral health conditions are associated with repeat criminal justice contact with SUDs being the strongest predictor of jail readmission;
- Pre-arrest diversion programs assess and address behavioral health needs associated with continual involvement in the criminal justice system; and
- Preliminary results indicate participants who fully engage in pre-arrest diversion programs tend to have low rates of recidivism for extended periods of time.
 |
A report recently released by the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted the significant increase of buprenorphine and naltrexone prescriptions for Medicare recipients between 2016 and 2018. The report also found more than a 500% increase for naloxone prescriptions. There has been more than a 10% decrease for opioid prescriptions through Medicare Part D and more than a 40% decrease in the classification of those considered at serious risk for opioid misuse under Medicare. The HHS points to recent efforts to curb opioid misuse, including a seven-day limit on first-time opioid prescriptions, pharmacy alerts about Medicare beneficiaries who receive high doses of pain meds and drug management programs. The full report can be accessed here.
Filmmakers and students at the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI are working together to produce a film that will tell stories of people and communities affected by the HIV outbreak and opioid epidemic in Indiana. Their work will include three scripted films, all taking place in Scott County, and two documentaries. One documentary will focus on Wes Doty, who found recovery through running. Their work will be published on the Opioid Stories website. Future work for the filmmakers includes adding stories and interviews regarding recovery to the website and begin outreach efforts in other communities working to address the opioid crisis.
|
