Year: 2018

Rise in Hospitalizations from Overdose

Farley said the increases in heroin overdose cases were “reflective of how the entire problem has shifted.”

“It started out as a prescription problem, but people are switching to heroin because it’s cheaper,” he said. He said doctors need to continue reducing opioid prescriptions “to stop people from getting addicted in the first place.” But, he said, those reductions must be coupled with more accessible treatment, so that people already dependent on pills don’t turn to heroin if a doctor reduces their prescription.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/health/addiction/hospital-stays-for-heroin-overdoses-in-pa-spike-especially-among-hispanics-20180912.html

By Aubrey Whelan

Proposed Bill to Defund Philadelphia

“What’s insane is that the new normal in Pennsylvania is that year over year, the overdose death rate is increasing by 30 percent,” said Devin Reaves, executive director of the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition. “All solutions to save lives must be on the table.”

The city’s official statement takes the same tack. “History has proven that the way governments handled previous drug epidemics was wrong, and to repeat it will result in the same disasters,” the Mayor’s Office and Health Dept. wrote. “And just as local governments had to lead during the HIV epidemic, cities like ours will be on the forefront of saving lives in the opioid crisis.”

https://billypenn.com/2018/09/12/this-state-rep-threatens-to-freeze-phillys-funding-if-an-overdose-prevention-site-opens/

By Michaela Winberg

Crisis Letal: Telemundo Coverage of the Opioid Crisis

Teaser: https://www.telemundo62.com/noticias/local/Serie-investigativa-_Crisis-Letal_-de-T62_TLMD—Philadelphia-491473001.html

Part 1: https://www.telemundo62.com/noticias/destacados/Crisis-Letal-Vertiginoso-ascenso-en-muertes-por-sobredosis-filadelfia-pensilvania-alexandra-zenteno-jose-lopez-thomas-farley-493088501.html

Part 2: https://www.telemundo62.com/noticias/destacados/Crisis-Letal-Ansian-el-cambio-de-lo-que-ven-como-normal-filadelfia-pensilvania-drogas-muertes-sobredosis-493192481.html

Part 3: https://www.telemundo62.com/noticias/destacados/Crisis-Letal-Empoderan-todo-aquel-que-ayude-filadelfia-pensilvania-departamento-de-salud-naloxone-493333991.html

By Iris Delgado and Rita Portela

Three Heat-related Deaths Announced

Meanwhile, the city confirmed that a heat-related death had occurred last Wednesday, only the third of a summer that has been among the warmer ones on record.

 

“Drug intoxication” also was a factor in the death, said Health Department spokesman James Garrow.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/weather/philadelphia-weather-heat-wave-relief-eagles-falcons-20180906.html

By Joseph Gambardello

Philadelphia has High Immunization Rates 2018

“High immunization rates are one of the best ways that we can keep our residents healthy,” said Dr. Caroline Johnson, Acting Deputy Health Commissioner. “When we vaccinate people, we prevent outbreaks of dangerous diseases. We save lives.”

https://mailchi.mp/phila.gov/new-data-show-that-philadelphias-teens-are-well-protected-from-dangerous-diseases?e=[UNIQID]

Philadelphia: more progress protecting our children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced new data that show that Philadelphia is protecting its residents from dangerous diseases with immunization rates that are among the highest in the country.

High immunization rates prevent disease outbreaks – and Philadelphia’s immunization rates are frequently higher than nationwide rates, meeting national goals and protecting our population from preventable diseases.

https://admin.phila.gov/2018-09-05-philadelphia-more-progress-protecting-our-children/

Response to Rosenstein OpEd 3

“Just as local governments had to lead during the HIV epidemic, cities like ours will be on the forefront of saving lives in the opioid crisis,” James Garrow, a spokesman for Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health, said in a statement Tuesday. “The federal government should focus its enforcement on the pill mills and illegal drug traffickers who supply the poison that is killing our residents, not on preventing public health officials from acting to keep Philadelphians from dying.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/cities-defiant-after-justice-departments-threat-on-supervised-injection-sites/2018/09/04/fcf798d6-b056-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html

By Lenny Bernstein and Katie Zezima

Overdose Awareness Day Press Release

PHILADELPHIA–In response to a public health crisis unlike anything in the last century, the City of Philadelphia recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day. This is a global event held on August 31st every year that aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death.

https://mailchi.mp/phila.gov/international-overdose-awareness-day-and-new-online-city-resources

Overdose Awareness Day Recognition

Philadelphia had close to 1,300 overdose deaths last year — the vast majority from opioids — and almost 300 in the first quarter of this year. And if you think those statistics are far removed from your life and reflect a moral failing on the part of the victims, Health Department spokesman James Garrow says, that is exactly why the city chose to observe this day.

“This day really hopes to bring it out into light that overdose happens to regular people and we should all be more cognizant of the humanity that’s suffering with these problems,” Garrow said.

https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/philadelphia-health-officials-observe-overdose-awareness-day

By Pat Loeb