Montgomery County
The Montgomery County Overdose Response project will utilize ESSENCE to help connect with overdose patients discharged from the ED within 24-48 hours. The Overdose Response Team (ORT), involving a combination of Community Health Workers, Certified Recovery Specialists and Specialized Community Paramedics, will assist with treatment placement and wrap around services for post release patients. The ORT will provide harm reduction education and be a referral source for both the individuals and families. The Montgomery County Health Department will utilize data retrieved through ESSENCE to educate others about the continued issues with prescription abuse in addition to heroin. The data collected will be shared with community stakeholders to help tackle community disparities related to substance use, reform education efforts in the schools, encourage local pharmacies to be engaged in the local issues, and change the attitudes towards substance abuse in our community. Montgomery County will utilize community stakeholders that will sit on a Fatality Review Team to assess the fatalities related to overdose in our community.
County Background
On this page you will find county specific statistics, demographic characteristics, health outcomes, an interactive healthcare facility locator map, and opioid crisis information. Select the arrows at the bottom of each graph to view more county information. Scroll further down to view a summary of Montgomery county’s response plan, activities in progress, completed projects, and a list of local stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the response plan to address overdose events.
Program Objectives & Goals
- Reduce the recidivism rate of unintentional overdoses in the ER by 50% by 2020.
- Make contact with overdose patients within 24-48 hours by January 2019.
- Form an Overdose Fatality Review Team to assess overdose fatalities by June 2018.
Activities
- Establish a core stakeholder/overdose response team of those within the Montgomery County Opioid Council
- Address overdose clusters utilizing ESSENCE, GIS mapping and formal/informal communication between stakeholders
- Train local personnel in Community Health Worker, Certified Recovery Specialist and Paramedic training
- Create Harm Reduction toolkit consisting of Narcan, substance abuse/mental health treatment resources, HIV/HEP C screening, sharps disposal program, etc. for both the public and stakeholders
- Create an educational campaign to help reduce stigma on substance use disorder
- Create an Overdose Fatality Review Team to review overdose related deaths similar to that of a Child Fatality Review
Stakeholders
|
|