Posted on November 27, 2018
Memorial and Town of Davie to Host Opiate Education and Suicide Prevention Forum on December 4, 2018
Memorial Healthcare System is teaming up with the Town of Davie in an effort to educate the community about the opioid epidemic in Broward County and to discuss suicide prevention.
The Opiate Education/Suicide Prevention Community Panel is scheduled for Tuesday, December 4 in the Town Council Chambers, 6591 Orange Drive, Davie, FL 33314 from 6 to 8 p.m. and will feature speakers from the hospital system and Town of Davie Public Safety personnel who are at the frontlines of the battle against opioid abuse.
The experts will be available to answer questions and provide information on how to seek assistance. For more information about the panel call 954-797-1000.
“Addiction is an illness and there is help, but the help needs to be longstanding and ongoing,” said Randy Katz, MD, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Memorial Regional Hospital. ”Working with community partners such as the Town of Davie helps us tackle this crisis together.
Dr. Randy Katz, chairman of Emergency Medicine at Memorial Regional Hospital, talks about what his clinical staff is seeing as South Florida battles an opioid epidemic.
Town of Davie Mayor Judy Paul says the initiative is designed to provide more education about available resources to the South Florida community.
“Numerous Davie families and residents are tragically impacted in one capacity or another by suicide or opioid use," said Mayor Paul. "Often times, we do not know how to respond or provide help to family members and friends who are affected. This initiative will provide resources, warning signs/indicators, coping mechanisms, and provide an avenue to discuss these topics openly. This is a high priority locally and nationally and we are trying to mitigate the negative impact through education.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, there are 2.6 million Americans who suffer from opioid addiction.
As a consequence, babies are being born with opioid withdrawal symptoms after being exposed in utero. Children are being moved to foster care after losing a parent to addiction. Younger people are dying due to the overdose of opioids.
While a national effort is needed to address this crisis, Memorial Healthcare System in Broward County is doing its part at a community level, offering programs that are tackling the core of the issue – the addiction.
Among the behavioral health programs administered by Memorial:
Medication Assisted Treatment program: an evidence-based approach aimed at sustaining recovery by addressing drug cravings and behavioral issues.
Memorial Hospital Pembroke Inpatient Medical Detoxification program: a voluntary service that medically manages withdrawal symptoms in a hospital setting for patients addicted to alcohol and/or controlled substances. The patient stays an average of 3 to 5 days and is discharged with follow-up care at treatment programs to prevent relapse.
Mothers in Recovery: a program that focuses on treating addiction in pregnancy with the goal of helping mothers deliver healthy, drug-free babies. Pregnant women receive comprehensive substance abuse treatment, including behavioral treatment, integrated obstetric care, and psychiatric follow up, case management, supportive housing and other program features to help break the cycle of addiction. In the last three 3 years, the program has helped 105 women with 81 live births (73 or 90% of the babies are born drug free.) This program is based at Memorial Regional Hospital.
Long-Acting Therapy Clinic (LAT Clinic): provides long-acting injectable Naltrexone for patients battling addiction with opioids and/or alcohol and in danger of relapsing once out of the hospital. These monthly injections help control drug cravings so the person can focus on his or her recovery.
The panel of experts will include:
Randy Katz, MD
Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine
Memorial Regional Hospital
Medical Director
Hollywood Fire Rescue
Alberto Augsten, Pharm.D., M.S.,BCPP, DABAT
Memorial Regional Hospital-Hollywood, Florida
Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator
PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency Director
Board Certified Clinical Toxicologist
Colleen M Quinn EdD, MSN, RN
Director of Nursing, Behavioral Health
Memorial Regional Hospital
Marcelle Girolamini-Smith, PSYD
Director, Psychological Services
Memorial Regional Hospital
Claudia P. Vicencio, PhD, LCSW, LMFT
Clinical Supervisor
Memorial Regional Hospital Behavioral Health Outpatient Center
Dale Engle, Major
Davie Police Department
Dan Moran, Battalion Chief
EMS Division
Davie Fire Rescue Department
