The Rotary Club of Edina had their annual fall joint meeting with the Edina Morningside Rotary Club Tuesday, Nov. 28. EMRC hosted our members at their usual 7:30 a.m. start time at the Edina Country Club. The program at the meeting was a panel discussion on the opioid crisis, featuring Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek; Lexi Reed Holtum from the Steve Rummler Hope Network; and Rob Reynolds, director of advocacy for Verde Technologies. John Pastor, director of Fairview Pharmacy Services and a member of EMRC, moderated the discussion.
For more on the meeting, click on the link below...
This week’s meeting was mighty early for this rock and roller! It was great to have a joint meeting with our Morningside brothers and sisters. Edina Morningside Rotary Club Past President Tom Gump started off the proceedings by reminding us to sign up for the Rotary International Convention and our District 5950 Mid-Term Assembly. He introduced Jake, who read a very fitting quote by JFK: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Tom introduced our program, which was a panel discussion on the opioid epidemic. Moderating our discussion was EMRC member John D. Pastor III, director of Fairview Pharmacy Services. Participating was Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek; Lexi Reed Holtum, executive director of the Steve Rummler Hope Network; and Rob Reynolds, Director of Advocacy for Verde Technologies, which helps organizations implement Deterra into their operations. Reynolds was also Eden Prairie Police Chief for nine years.
All of our panelists agreed that too many lives are touched by opioid addiction and overdose. Rich stated that in Minnesota in 2016, 153 people died of overdose, a 39 percent increase from 2015. The youngest was 16, and the oldest was 98. In 2017, it looks like that number will increase approximately another 18 percent, raising overdose deaths to almost 200. One in three people have a predisposition to addiction. Nationwide last year, 20,000 deaths were attributed to legal, prescription drug overdose, and another 10,000 to heroin overdose. Heroin is two carbon molecules away from prescription pain opioids.
Our panelists talked about two products today:
- NARCAN—is a lifesaving product that blocks the effects of opioids, and is carried by many law enforcement agencies and EMTs. Anyone can buy it at a pharmacy for around $40 per dose.
- Deterra—Rob emphasized proper disposal of your pharmaceuticals, as addicts who could be a friend or family member have been known to steal them right out of your medicine cabinet. One way to dispose of your prescriptions is with the product he brought called Deterra.
All agreed that we need a paradigm shift, where addiction is not embarrassing to talk about. Education, prevention and awareness are key, and we have to start with how we deal with pain management. We also need to educate our prescribers and talk about addiction before prescribing opioids.
