Opioid Discussion At Women’s Health Fair Includes Presentation From Those Who Have Seen Addiction Affect Family Members

Those who attended the annual Women’s Health Fair on February 23 at the Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital (SGCMH) had the chance to hear from two local women whose families have been effected by opioid use.

The state of opioid use in Ste. Genevieve County was a topic of one of the presentations.

SGCMH has been recognized with a Missouri Rural Health Champion Award for its efforts to cut back on prescriptions being handed out by local doctors. Dr. Matthew Bosner is the lead on the committee while pharmacist Laura Fallert has played a key role in the effort as well and was recognized individually.

SGCMH also offers an in-house treatment program, New Visions, to help patients go through withdrawals.

SGCMH, the county health department and county officials have led other initiatives as well, including getting the county enrolled in the St. Louis metropolitan areas prescription drug monitoring program (since Missouri is the only state not to have a statewide program) and re-establishing a ministerial alliance.

One of the two women to speak at the presentation said it startled her when she thought about how many addicts she knows or is related to.

“I’m sure everybody knows somebody that’s addicted or a friend of somebody, or a relative,” she said. “It’s an epidemic we are facing.”

She told the story of one family member who has been fighting addiction for more than a dozen years.

“The bad thing about addiction is you don’t go back and start over like you’re new to it,” she said. “You pick up right where you left off, and it just advances and advances. …

“It’s a lifelong disease, and it’s  a family disease. It involves everybody they know. … You have to know and understand they will lie, they will cheat, they will steal, they will do everything they have to to get this drug. …

See complete story in the March 6 edition of the Herald.

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