“When did the opioid crisis pop up?” We hear this often. This epidemic begins with seeking relief from a physical and/or emotional pain that won’t go away. Prescription drugs, heroin, fentanyl, etc. can take away the pain momentarily, only to bring greater suffering with addiction, damaged relationships, overdose and death. Thank you for the comprehensive article focused on raising awareness around the opioid crisis and the work being done to address this individual, family, community and national level epidemic. I’d like to highlight the local collaboration working to respond to this issue right here in Pottstown.
“In October of 2017, Commissioner Arkoosh stated that the county had five fewer overdose deaths in the first half of 2017, compared to the same period of 2016, bucking the trend seen in across southeastern Pennsylvania.” — Jim Melwert, KYW Newsradio 1060, 10/17/17.
This may seem small, but it’s a change in the right direction — a downward trend. Contributing to this positive trajectory, Creative Health Services, Community Health and Dental Care, Pottstown Hospital/Tower Health and the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation have collaborated over the last four years to form the Tri-County Health Council (TCHC) to improve the health and health care, including the treatment of behavioral health and substance use disorders, of Tri-County Area residents through collaboration, enhanced provider communication and innovative patient engagement. One of our current and foundational projects is improving outcomes related to the opiate crisis.
[For more on this story by Andrew Trentacoste, go to http://www.pottsmerc.com/opini...eat-opioid-addiction]
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