Essentia Health Hosts Panel on Opioid Crisis
Business leaders gather to discuss ways drug epidemic can be solved
www.kvrr.com/2017/08/03/essentia-health-hosts-panel-on-opioid-crisis/
FARGO, ND — It’s a drug killing more than 90 Americans every day: opiates.
One mother understands that after sending her two sons to jail.
“I was trying to save their lives,” Mary Locken said.
Locken’s sons, 23-year-old Joe and 21-year-old Nicholas, were caught up in the storm of addiction.
They started drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana at a young age, but eventually, it wasn’t enough.
“The game changer for both of them, no mistake, [was] prescription drugs,” Locken said.
Essentia Health wants to change that.
They held a panel discussion for business leaders to address ways to combat opioid addiction in the community.
Essentia has already started to take more precautions in giving chronic pain patients prescriptions with opioids.
“We have an opioid agreement that spells out what their obligations are,” said Dr. Richard Vetter, who is Essentia Health’s clinical chief of primary care. “What the clinicians obligations are and really helps us have that conversation about risk benefits.”
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about 21-29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them.
Vetter said the panel is a good place to discuss further ways this crisis can be solved because it’s about working together.
“I think it’ll require a collaborative effort to really deal with this problem,” Vetter said. “But I think there’s hope. I think there’s a lot of hope because there are treatments out there that are effective. We just have to get them to the patients that need them.”
Locken has discovered that hope once again.
“Where I had given up hope for my sons, literally, I thought they were walking death, that they would not survive,” Locken said. “I now have hope for both of my sons.”
Locken’s son Joe was just released from prison, while Nicholas is still serving his sentence.
Joe will be attending Minnesota State Moorhead.
Filed under: General Problems
ok,,again,,at 18,,,i was conscidere’d a adult,,,not a young child at 18,,we moved out at 18,,already had full time jobs at 18,,hell we can die for this country at 18,given a gun and lawfully kill our enemy’s in time of war at 18,,, at 18 U ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN FREE WILL,,,,,,,I GUESS NOW A DAYS,,,,,,”TOMMY MADE ME DO IT DEFENSE IS ACCEPTABLE ACROSS THE BOARDS FOR ADULTS THEN EH??,,,but why,,,are we NEVER EVER ASKED/ALLOWED TO SPEAK AT ANY OF THESE SECRET MEETINGS??? heres the thing,,,,our country was founded on ,”free will,”” NOT,,,,REGULATEING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR,,,,,,,,,IF OUR GOVERNMENT WANTS/IS TO REGULATE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR,,PUT A PRICE TAG ON HUMAN LIFE,,,,,,THEY HAVE JOINED THE RANKS OF HITLER,,,,,,,WERE IF YOUR CHOICE/BEHAVIOUR/RELIGIOUS BELIEF WAS TO BE A JEW,,,,,,YOUR DEAD,,,,,IF WE ARE CHRONIC PHYSICAL PAIN HUMAN BEINGS IN AMERICA,,,,,,,,YOUR DEAD,,,,,,, regulating human behaviour is against everything a ,”free will ,” country is founded on,,,,,,[as adults free will,”],,,,,maryw
Blaming the opioids is not the answer. If this mother would watch my video on the REAL Cause of drug abuse shown in the video slider on my home page of http://www.doctorsofcourage.org, I think she will see why her sons were addicted to anything. The problem with younger people today is that many of them are being born leutic, or become so in childhood because of diet and stress. Her sons can attend all the drug rehab programs out there, and will not treat the problem. They will probably turn back to a drug of abuse. BUT, if they do the Seven Steps to Healing, they can change miasms and no longer even want a drug of abuse.
I absolutely do not believe that 21-29 percent of chronic pain patients misuse their opioid medications. Also, I tried everything else prior to starting opioids for pain. The alternative treatments did not work!! It is time these addicts are held accountable for their actions!! Stop blaming the “opioid.” The medicine did not grow legs and jump into those boys mouth!! These people want to blame everything else except the addict!!
Amen Vic,,,seriously,,,when u write the list,,doctor,pharmacisrt,manufacturer,psychologists,psychiatris,nurses, hell the door man fault,,,,,MY ADULT SON OD BECAUSE OF THE DOCTOR,THE MANUFACTURER,THE NURSE,THE PHARMACIST,THE PSYCHOLOGIST,THE PSYCIATRIST,AND THE DOORMAN,,,,IT THEIR FAULT MY ADULT ,”KID”'[COMPLETE CONTRIDICTION] OD!!!!!!SUE THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!,,,,, gee,,,who has this ,”kid,” been living w/for 18,19 35 years??concur,that MEDICINE did not get shoved down their throat,,,THEY MADE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO PUT THAT MEDICINE/ IN THEIR OWN MOUTH,,,,,,ITS CALLED FREE WILL,”,,,THEY ALSO MADE THAT CONSCIOUS DECISION TO ABUSE THAT ,MEDICINE,,,,IT USE TO BE,,,,NO-ONE COULD BE DEEMED AN ADDICT,,,IF,,,THEY TOOK THEIR MEDICINE AS PRESCRIBED,,,,,BY A LAWFUL DOCTOR FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES,,,,,,,,THAT THE LOGICALLY,REASONABLE DEFINITION THAT WE NEED TO GET BACK TOOOOOO,,,,,maryw