Posts by Abby Jernberg
Talking with Teens About Fentanyl (12/02/2021 – Public Health Insider)
With the first months of school now behind us and young people more used to re-engaging with their peers, it’s a good time to have an open and honest conversation with our kids about fentanyl. This powerful synthetic drug has changed the landscape of drug use in our region. In 2015, just three people died from…
Read MoreSafe medication return program gets underway (WA Dept of Health, 11/21/2020)
Today is the go-live date for Washington’s Safe Medication Return Program, a pioneering effort aimed at reducing medication misuse, abuse, and poisonings. This program creates a unified, statewide, medication return program that will give Washington residents free, convenient and environmentally responsible options for disposing of unwanted medication. Physical drop boxes are available. People may also request free…
Read MorePublic health crises collide: Substance abuse linked to COVID-19 susceptibility (9/26/2020 ABC News)
People with substance use disorders may be more likely to become infected and die of COVID-19, according to a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in Molecular Psychiatry. Specifically, the study found that people with opioid use disorder and tobacco addiction were more likely to die of COVID-19. (More…)
Read MoreOverdose deaths spiked during pandemic shutdown, data shows (8/26/2020 Herald)
New data shows the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened another public health crisis — drug addiction. In Snohomish County, more people died from drug overdoses between March and July than in all of 2019, according to data from the Snohomish Health District. The anxiety and isolation, as well as limited clinical assistance, brought on by the pandemic have…
Read MoreOpioid Outreach Work Continues in Snohomish County Despite COVID-19 – Partners Announce New Opioid Data Portals, Federal Grant Award (8/25/2020 Snohomish Health District)
Even with an all-hands response to the COVID pandemic, Snohomish County, the Snohomish Health District, and other partners continue to move forward with work focused on opioid use prevention, treatment and recovery. (More…)
Read MoreWashington expands prescription data sharing to better inform prescribers, opioid crisis response (WA Dept of Health, 5/30/2019)
Under a new data sharing agreement, the Washington State Department of Health is now sharing Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) data with nearly all states, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense. (More…)
Read MoreSnohomish Health District: Up to 80,000 misusing opioids (01/10/2019 Herald)
Somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of Snohomish County residents either are addicted to opioids or are misusing them, a Snohomish Health District report estimates. The study released Wednesday tried to quantify just how widespread the drug problem is. It’s one of the first such attempts to do so in the nation. It found between…
Read MoreNew report estimates 5,000-10,000 people have opioid use disorder in Snohomish County (01/09/2019 KIRO7)
The Snohomish Health District report released Wednesday estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 individuals in Snohomish County have an opioid use disorder. An additional 35,000 to 80,000 are estimated to be misusing opioids. More…
Read MoreOpioid Use Disorder & Opioid Misuse in Snohomish County: Burden of Disease Report (December 2018, Snohomish Health District)
A new study also estimates as many as 10,000 county residents are addicted to opioids. More…
Read MoreNew resource center to close gap in Snohomish County’s fight against opioid crisis (12/21/2018 KIRO Radio)
From declaring an emergency, to starting addiction treatment at the jail, to dedicated outreach teams of social workers and sheriff’s deputies, Snohomish County has been tackling the opioid and homeless crisis head on. Another key piece of that response will open its doors next month. The county’s dedicated teams of social workers and sheriff’s deputies…
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