Gibson Area Hospital & Health Services | Gibson gets it! | Fall/Winter 2019

Gibson Area Hospital & Health Services (GAHHS) is among 80 grantees that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is awarding $80million for opioid use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services in rural areas. GAHHS will receive $1million in funding fromHRSA’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program to help expand behavioral health services that will address opioid addiction. U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth announced the award in August, along with additional funding that will be directed to central Illinois community health centers for opioid and behavioral health services. The money comes from HRSA’s Integrated Behavioral Health Services Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. “Federal investments in our health centers give them certainty to plan for the future and enable patients to access the care they need,” says Durbin. “This funding is critical for community health centers across Illinois and will help provide necessary affordable care to thousands of families while also helping to stem the opioid crisis,” Duckworth says. Source: durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-duckworth -announce-nearly-38-million-to-combat-opioid-epidemic-in-illinois As a family practice physician, I have seen the devastating effects of opioid addiction on members of our local communities. It is our responsibility as medical professionals to help those in need of care and to educate others to reduce the stigma surrounding addiction. I feel that it is very easy for those of us in medicine, as well as those of us in the community, to turn our backs on this chronic medical condition and hope that someone else will take care of these patients or that the crisis will just quietly go away. Unfortunately, the opioid crisis continues, and patients need the support of not only medical professionals but the community as a whole. Building partnerships Gibson Area Hospital & Health Services is taking on this challenge through its role as a leader in addiction treatment at the primary care level and through behavioral wellness services. Building partnerships as we offer professional education opportunities and form resource coalitions in our service areas, the Gibson organization is ensuring a cohesive effort among our schools, health departments, law enforcement and healthcare providers for a greater response to the opioid crisis. It’s vital to have the facts when it comes to prescription opioids. Themore you know, the likelier you are to get the best pain control safely—which may not include opioids at all. Ask your doctor about other ways to treat your pain. For example, nonopioid medications and physical therapy have fewer risks and side effects. And sometimes these other treatments may work better than opioids. If you and your doctor decide opioids are right for you, store them in a secure location and ask your doctor or pharmacist what to do with any leftover pills. All of this helps reduce the risk of opioid misuse. GAHHS receives federal grant for opioid addiction 2019 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program It is our responsibility to act Story contributed by Kate Austman, MD, Family Healthcare of Gibson City If you knowa friend or familymember in need of recovery support, please call the GAHBehavioral Wellness Center at 217-784-4540 . 20 www. GibsonHospital.org