 The National Council on Aging (NCOA) administered an online survey in early 2019 to gauge the effect of the opioid disorder on older adults and their caregivers. The intent of the survey was to highlight new resources and tools needed for organizations to better serve their communities. There were more than 200 survey respondents who represented a diverse group of organizations and agencies across 40 states and Puerto Rico.
Primary overall results indicated that organizations spent more time addressing opioid-related issues in the last two years. Results also showed that the volume of opioids, and lack of awareness and information fuel the epidemic, and that few resources, including best practices or screening tools, are available for older adults.
To view more information from NCOA, visit www.ncoa.org, or click here to see the full issue brief.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) is the recipient of a $5.2 million grant award from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve care coordination and the incorporation of other services that are critical for maternal and child health, well-bring and sustained recovery. The grant is part of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Indiana initiative that addresses opioid use disorder in pregnant women.
FSSA will partner with its four Medicaid managed care programs (Anthem, CareSource, MDwise and MHS) for a four-pronged approach that includes cooperative care coordination, increased provider education, addressing social determinants of health and extending Medicaid coverage.
FSSA will also work closely with the Indiana State Department of Health and the OB Navigator program to coordinate services for those women who qualify for both programs.
For more information, see this news story or visit FSSA’s website.
A new study published in the journal Rural Sociology shows that the United States sees different opioid challenges in urban and rural areas. This study was performed by researchers at Syracuse University, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, and covered more than 3,000 counties that make up the 48 contiguous states of America. As opposed to prior drug epidemics in the United States, opioids have a higher concentration in rural areas. Throughout American history, drug epidemics such as the heroin crisis of the 1970s predominantly affected urban areas and cities. Results of this study show an increase of opioid-involved deaths by more than 700 percent in rural areas, versus about 400 percent in urban areas. However, this pattern seems to be retrogressing as numbers of deaths from synthetic opioids climb in metropolitan areas. Click here to view the study.
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