{"id":51569,"date":"2018-07-13T11:17:41","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T15:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=51569"},"modified":"2018-07-13T11:17:41","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T15:17:41","slug":"health-unit-and-other-agencies-tackling-opioid-crisis-with-new-action-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/health-unit-and-other-agencies-tackling-opioid-crisis-with-new-action-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Health unit and other agencies tackling opioid crisis with new action plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week the Simcoe Muskoka Opioid Strategy (SMOS) Steering Committee released a strategy to address opioid use, addiction, and overdose in the region.<\/p>\n

The action plan reflects more than a year\u2019s worth of work. It incorporates input from about 45 local agencies and organizations, and the voices of individuals who have experienced the harms of opioid misuse, whether directly or through friends and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpioids are prescribed for a variety of legitimate reasons, but prescription and illicit opioid misuse, addiction and overdose demand urgent attention,\u201d said Dr. Rebecca Van Iersel, co-chair of SMOS. \u201cIt\u2019s time for action to help people living in the communities of Simcoe and Muskoka, which is exactly what this comprehensive strategy outlines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The action plan\u2019s completion could not come soon enough, said Dr. Lisa Simon, co-chair of SMOS, as statistics for 2017 show 74 confirmed and four probable opioid overdose deaths in Simcoe Muskoka. These 78 deaths represent a 70 per cent increase over the 2016 total of 46 deaths, and continue to show that the impact in Simcoe Muskoka is above the provincial average.<\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n

\u201cThe impact of opioids in our region has been devastating,\u201d Dr. Simon said. \u201cDeaths are only the tip of the iceberg, with huge effects on individuals, families, communities, and service providers. As was said to me by an individual with lived experience of opioid use, we cannot let this become our new normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SMOS plan is structured around seven key pillars for action, including prevention, treatment\/clinical practice, harm reduction, enforcement, emergency management, data and evaluation, and lived experience. Many of the initiatives included in the pillar action plans have already begun to take shape. Examples include:<\/p>\n