El Dorado County Opioid Coalition launches new campaign - Your Pain is Real. So Are the Risks

The El Dorado County Opioid Coalition (EDCOC) has launched its new opioid prevention public education campaign, "Your Pain is Real. So Are the Risks.”

The EDCOC works to prevent opioid addiction and overdose in El Dorado County through its treatment, safe prescribing, and naloxone distribution programs and has now started working with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

The goal is to increase awareness about the dangers of prescription opioid medications and encourage patients to discuss safer pain options with their doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physical therapists, and drug treatment counselors about safer pain management options.

The misuse and diversion of prescription opioid pain medication (e.g. hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, and codeine) has become a multi-faceted public health crisis that can lead to addiction, overdose, and death.

In 2018, 149,105 prescriptions for opioids in the county were issued, that is 601.7 per 1,000 residents. That same year, 48 El Dorado County residents were hospitalized because of an opioid-related overdose, and seven residents died from an opioid-related overdose. (More opioid overdose data is available on the California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard)

El Dorado County, in response to the national, state-wide, and local opioid crisis, created it’s opioid collation in the fall of 2017. It is comprised of over 120 partners which include hospitals, clinics, the public health department, medically assisted treatment programs, drug and alcohol treatment centers, law enforcement agencies, high school districts, community-based organizations and concerned citizens. The coalition meets quarterly, with the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 25 at 12:15 pm – location to be determined.

If you would like information regarding local opioid treatment resources or the El Dorado County Opioid Coalition please visit our website at www.edcopioidcoalition.org or contact Chris Weston, Project Director, cweston@comcast.net or Kirsten Rogers, Project Manager, rogers_kirsten@comcast.net. They can also be found on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/edcopioidcoalition/.