West Palm Beach, FL - February 15, 2018 - (Newswire.com)
Over the past three years, Palm Beach County, Florida has become an epicenter for the deadly opioid crisis.
· The number of opioid-related overdose deaths hit epidemic proportions in 2016 with 571 lives lost; a 110% increase from the previous year.
· The upward trend continues; according to a February 2018 report, the county recorded nearly 600 fatal overdoses in 2017.
To combat the growing crisis, 60 representatives from more than 25 Palm Beach County non-profits, health organizations, law enforcement agencies, businesses, and government agencies have joined forces to launch the ‘100-Day Challenge,’ a groundbreaking initiative that defines clear and attainable goals designed to have an immediate impact on the crisis.
Palm Healthcare Foundation, a nonprofit community-based health foundation that spearheaded the initiative, shared the overarching goal for the challenge: This new system will connect people with opioid use disorder to appropriate services, including medication assisted treatment, at 15 participating treatment centers and 25 FARR-Certified Recovery Residences with proper support and/or recovery navigators. We will use this system to serve 125 persons from this population in the next 100 days, indicating an improvement in linkage to services and increased engagement.
100-Day Challenge initiatives include:
* Scholarship beds and treatment will be made available to indigent people.
* The use of certified recovery residences will be promoted, in place of unregulated sober homes.
* Peer specialists will be located at four hospitals to work with people brought to the ER after an overdose.
* Recovery navigators will be paired with people exiting treatment centers to prevent relapse and support their continued recovery at certified residences.
CLICK HERE for a detailed press release that includes the partners and more information about the '100 Day Challenge' initiative.
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Original Source: Palm Beach County Business, Government and Nonprofit Leaders Launch Groundbreaking Initiative to Combat Opiod Crisis