Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Guest Column:

More resources needed to battle opioid epidemic in Nevada

In Nevada and across the country, opioid addiction is a fast-growing problem that disproportionately affects rural communities. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows opioids were involved in 28,648 deaths in 2014, meaning more Americans are dying from drug overdoses than in motor vehicle crashes each year.

Nevada has been hit particularly hard by this epidemic. Tragically, 382 people in the Silver State died of drug overdoses in 2014. Chances are, readers of this column have been affected by a loved one’s addiction, or know someone who has. In fact, a recent poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 44 percent of Americans personally know someone who has been addicted to prescription pain medication.

This is a health crisis, and it is going to take serious action from all levels of government, the health care community, law enforcement and others to turn those numbers around.

In Nevada, we have made meaningful progress toward attacking the scourge of this growing problem, but we can and must do more. Overdoses related to prescription opioids and heroin result in one death per day in our state, an unacceptable statistic that is destroying lives. In addition to the suffering and tragedy, the financial costs associated with this problem are staggering. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits have steadily increased over the past five years. Many of those treated were uninsured or on Medicaid, illustrating the significant fiscal strain of this crisis on our health care resources.

The Governor’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Summit, set for this week, will bring together top local and national minds for a candid conversation to get to the heart of this crisis.

At the federal level, President Barack Obama organized an interagency effort focused on heroin and prescription opioids in rural America. The administration has promoted strategies including evidence-based prevention programs, prescription drug monitoring, and access to medication-assisted treatment and the overdose-reversal drug naloxone. Federal departments are coordinating programs toward this effort. For example, the Department of Agriculture has invested heavily in telehealth, which allows doctors to provide expert advice in hard-to-reach rural areas that lack extensive medical personnel.

Turning the tide of the opioid epidemic requires real resources to help Americans seeking the care they need. It’s encouraging that Congress has recently passed legislation in response to this crisis. Unfortunately, these bills did not include much-needed funding to expand crucial treatment resources.

Obama has proposed $1.1 billion in funding to ensure treatment for opioid use disorder is available to everyone who seeks it. The funding would help states expand access to treatment for opioid use disorders, build on federal efforts to expand state-level prescription prevention strategies and support targeted enforcement activities.

Under the president’s budget proposal, Nevada could receive up to $9 million over two years to expand access to treatment for opioid use disorders. This funding would go a long way to increase treatment capacity and make services more affordable for the thousands of people in Nevada who are suffering from opioid addiction and want to recover.

It’s estimated that we lose 78 people each day to this disease nationwide. In order to expand access to treatment and prevention resources, it’s up to Congress to put real muscle behind this fight. By making the right investments, expanding strategies that we know work and mobilizing partnerships at every level across the country, we can turn the tide of this epidemic and save lives. Nevada’s conversation this week is only the beginning.

Tom Vilsack is the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, chairman of the White House Rural Council and leader of President Barack Obama’s rural opioid initiative. Brian Sandoval has served as the governor of Nevada since 2010.

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