NEW CITY – Healthcare organizations and Rockland County have announced a new initiative aimed at combating the opioid crisis.
County government has teamed up with Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, Helen Hayes Hospital, Crystal Run Healthcare, Refuah Health Center, Rockland Paramedic Services and the Rockland County Medical Society to distribute two letters to those who prescribe medications in the county.
The letters ask prescribers to do three things – educate themselves on the safe and effective treatment of pain, screen patients for opioid use disorder and connect them to treatment, and approach addition as a chronic illness rather than a moral failing.
“The good news is that we already have one of the lowest rates of Opioid Analgesic Prescribing (349.3 prescriptions per 1,000 residents) and that our rate of opioid-related deaths is below the state average,” said County Executive Edwin Day. “However, I know we can do better. Losing even one life to this epidemic is one life too many. If we can curb the number of opioid prescriptions we can limit even more people from suffering from this kind of addiction.”
