DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Colleen M. Bridger, MPH, PhD
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
A briefing by the co-chairs of the Joint Opioid Overdose Prevention Task Force, Dr. Colleen Bridger and Dr. Bryan Alsip regarding the Task Force’s final report and accomplishments
SUMMARY:
The co-chairs of the Joint Opioid Overdose Prevention Task Force, Dr. Colleen Bridger and Dr. Bryan Alsip will provide a presentation discussing the final report and accomplishments of the Joint Opioid Overdose Prevention Task Force, convened last August by Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Drug overdose deaths continue to increase in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 1999 to 2016, more than 630,000 people died from a drug overdose. Nationally, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids quadrupled since 1999. Over 100 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, which includes prescription opioids and heroin. Locally, Bexar County ranks third in per capita rates of death from opioid overdoses and first in rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome, where mothers who are addicted to opioids transfer the addiction to their babies in the womb.
The Joint Opioid Overdose Prevention Task Force (Task Force) was established in August of 2017 by Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and City of San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Its goal was to address the alarming increase in deaths due to opioid overdose in San Antonio and Bexar County. The Task Force was co-chaired by Dr. Colleen Bridger, Director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health) and Dr. Bryan Alsip, Chief Medical Officer of University Health System.
The Task Force convened more than 30 members from public health, the medical and pharmaceutical industries, first responders, policy makers, public school districts, and social service agencies. With the ultimate goal of reducing opioid overdose deaths in Bexar County, the Task Force members agreed to meet every other month for one year to discuss the progress made towards its four main objectives through the following workgroups:
1. Naloxone Workgroup - to expand the availability and use of overdose reversal medications;
2. Provider Education Workgroup - to improve training for health care providers on evidence-based opioid prescribing protocols including the use of the statewide prescription drug monitoring database;
3. Community Education Workgroup - to educate the community on how to safely dispose of prescribed opioids and the risks that accompany the use of heroin and other opioids, particularly in adolescents; and,
4. Treatment Workgroup - to improve access to and navigation of treatment services for addiction.
Dr. Bridger and Dr. Alsip would like the opportunity to make a presentation to Mayor and City Council to discuss the Task Force’s final findings and accomplishments over the last year.
ISSUE:
The co-chairs of the Joint Opioid Overdose Prevention Task Force, Dr. Colleen Bridger and Dr. Bryan Alsip, would like the opportunity to provide a presentation to the full City Council on the final report and accomplishments of the Task Force.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. This memo is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.