top of page

Communities

 

Our experience has shown that the central role of  community advisory boards cannot be emphasized enough. In general, the boards are made up of clinicians, parents, health officials, faith community representatives, school and college officials, law enforcement, and others. They dictate the specific mix of overdose prevention interventions for their local area. Our national presence gives us access to resources that coalitions may not be aware of and our practical experience helps us guide the formation and sustainable development of these groups.

 

The Project Lazarus Model is a  public health model based on the twin premises that drug overdose deaths are preventable and that all communities are ultimately responsible for their own health. The Model can be conceptualized as a wheel with three core components that make up the "Hub" of the wheel and seven components that make up the "Spokes." The Hub core components: Public Awareness, Coalition Action, and Data and Evaluation. The Spokes components: Community Education, Provider Education, Hospital ED Policies, Diversion Control, Pain Patient Support, Harm Reduction, and Addiction Treatment. This wheel is always in motion since coalitions and communities are always evolving. A coalition may start with a focus in one or two areas and then expand to other areas as the availability of resources changes, community sector engagement increases, or the nature of the problem shifts.

 

Here are some some of the activities done in Wilkes that we can help you do in your community:

 

Community Education

  • Town hall meetings

  • Specialized task forces

  • Build community-based leadership

  • Coalition building

  • “Managing Chronic Pain” toolkit assembled

  • Press conferences

  • Webpage development

  • Presentations at health fairs

 

Prevention:

  • School-based education, such as pledge cards

  • Red Ribbon Campaign

  • Billboards against sharing medications

  • Presentations at colleges, town halls, civic organizations, churches, etc.

  • Radio and newspaper announcements

  • Medication disposal dropboxes installation

  • Medication take-back events

  • Medication bottle safety labels

 

Provider Education

  • One-on-one education on pain management, “academic detailing”

  • Continuing-education sessions on pain management

  • Licensing actions against criminal prescribing

  • Promotion of CSRS

 

Hospital ED Policies

  • Opioid policy modifications: limits on amount dispensed at once and required CSRS check

 

Diversion Control

  • Medication take-back events

  • Medication disposal dropboxes at qualifying clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, and law enforcement offices

  • Hiring and training of drug diversion specialized law enforcement officers

 

Pain Patient Support

  • Medicaid policy change: mandatory use of patient-prescriber agreements and pharmacy

  • Support groups for pain patients

  • ED case manager for Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic pain

  • Vetting of local pain clinics and facilitation of specialized pain clinic referrals

 

Harm Reduction

  • Naloxone prescriptions and overdose kits

  • Drug user education on overdose prevention and response

 

Addiction Treatment

  • Detox programs

  • Treatment support services

  • Negotiation and support for opening of satellite office-based drug treatment clinic (buprenorphine)

bottom of page