UR Medicine - Recovery Center of Excellence In response to the overdose crisis, we are disseminating best practices and implementing programs to save lives, reduce stigma, and make it easier to access treatment for substance use disorder (SUD). Saving Lives Saving Lives Opioid overdose prevention (naloxone) Preventing overdose from combined substances Suicide prevention strategies If I can just meet one person where they're at, If I can just make one little change that's going to save one life, everything else is worth it. When people are mixing drugs especially the benzodiazepines and gabapentin with various types of opioids those are all respiratory depressants, so they can result in difficulty breathing and can contribute to eventual death from a mixed overdose.
Letting people know that medications for opioid use disorder are widely available now. Of course, we're giving naloxone to the families of people who are using drugs, but we're also giving naloxone and educating people who are using drugs. Overcoming Stigma “Community Conversations” to reduce stigma Reducing stigma in the ED and other care settings Increasing treatment engagement Rural SUD health equity and stigma summit The stigma campaign helps people understand substance use disorder through art. The idea is that understanding people in a different way, their humanity and not just their drug problem, helps us all to understand that these folks are human beings too who struggle with everyday problems and who happen to have the medical problem of substance use disorder.
I think minimizing that guilt and shame will then allow people to come forward a little bit more and seek the support from trusted individuals around them who can help them. You know, in rural communities where everybody knows everybody, a lot of times it's hard to even get people to come to treatment. It's a critical area to take a look at, how we can reduce the stigma associated with treatment so that more people will access care. Expanding Access to Treatment Training modules for primary care practices Increasing access to medications for opioid use disorder Engagement in care upon release from incarceration Behavioral health care management Telehealth strategies Our goal is really to teach and train primary care clinicians to feel comfortable and confident in treating opioid use disorder in their office.
It's important to try and provide as much treatment as possible and to make all of the opioid use disorder medications available to people. If you don't have the dysphoric state taken away, that withdrawal syndrome, you can't then move to the next step, which is to start recovery, to start learning about addiction, to get the support system in place, to work on things like safe housing, the rest of overall help. We look forward to continuing to partner with rural communities to increase supports, remove barriers, and prevent the onset and progression of this chronic disease. Questions about best practices, resources, or any topics related to addressing SUD in rural areas?
Contact our Program Assistance: 1-844-263-8762 or URMedicine_Recovery@urmc.rochester.edu UR Medicine - Medicine of the Highest Order