Forum designed to start two-way conversation

Focus on heroin and opiate use

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Medical providers, members of law enforcement, social service representatives, legislators and other members of the community gathered at Mayo Regional Hospital for a pair of community forums on April 19 to have a conversation on heroin and opioid use in Piscataquis County and across Maine. The Maine Opioid Collaborative round-table session was held to educate and gather information, and open up a two-way conversation about what is happening in the state and what can be done while providing feedback for the Maine Opioid Collaborative Task Forces.

“We really identified substance abuse as a critical priority,” said Sue Mackey Andrews, of Helping Hands with Heart and the co-founder and co-facilitator of the Maine Resilience Building Network at the start of the late morning forum in the hospital’s Piscataquis Room.

Carol Kelly of the Maine Opioid Collaborative said forums are providing data on the impact of heroin and opioid use in the state that can be used for treatment, law enforcement, task forces and more. “Then it’s really going to be up to all of us to make sure things happen,” she said, at both the state and local levels.

Dr. David McDermott of Mayo Regional Hospital said he looked at emergency room patient data for the first few months of both 2015 and 2016. He said in 2015 the facility saw one person with a narcotic overdose on prescription medications purchased on the street.

“In 2016 in the same three months we have seen nine patients with overdoses in the emergency department,” Dr. McDermott said. He said three cases involved heroin, two were methadone and another involved prescription oxycodone.

“Clearly we have gone from one in 2015 to nine in 2016 and I think the useage problem is what we have seen in the community,” Dr. McDermott said. “For people who say here in Piscataquis County we don’t have a problem, I am here to say we do have a problem.”

“We have had 16 calls for overdoses,” Emergency Medical Services Director Eric Young said about the hospital’s large coverage area. He said test results of five of the calls confirmed patient overdoses.

Ted Hunt, who has worked for over 20 years in crisis intervention, said he has seen an increase in heroin and opiate use. He said today there are at least two patients a week who are either dependent or in a form of crisis with a heroin or prescription issue.

“There has been a drastic change over the last few years,” said Lt. Jamie Kane of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office. “It is now a weekly basis you hear talk about heroin.”

“We are hearing less and less about the prescriptions and more and more about heroin, and it’s coming from out of state,” he said.

Mayo Regional Hospital psychiatric nurse Stephen Perkins said, “We can’t split away drug abuse from mental health.” He said medications can be used for cravings “but we need to make sure we are also providing therapy because the two go together.”

Mackey Andrews said poverty “is probably one of the most critical adverse impacts on children and families.” She mentioned those seeking treatment for substance abuse may have to travel out of the region which limits their ability to work and/or go to school and they have to bring their children with them.

“We want to be a community that cares about everybody, including those with challenges,” Mackey Andrews said, saying those committed to recovery need to be supported.

Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance Advocacy Program Manager Cindy Freeman Cyr said a greater number of calls involving addiction are being made to the hotline of the agency working to end domestic abuse. “I will just speak for myself, but I feel we need more education,” she said. “I really feel like I need to know more about what it is like.”

“There’s detoxification for those who are physically addicted and then there’s treatment,” Hunt said, saying most of those who are addicted lack the financial resources and/or insurance to receive the the proper treatments.

Mayo Regional Hospital CEO Marie Vienneau said the hospital faces challenges when balancing resources and the needs of the community in terms of treatment programs, with one medication program having a long waiting list. Vienneau added that payment and reimbursement process can be very difficult.

A question asked if there during the treatment process do patients say why they start taking drugs. “There is a common thread and it’s trauma, it’s early childhood trauma or post-traumatic stress,” Perkins said. “You can be poor and have trauma and you can be rich and trauma,” he said, adding that wealthy children are abused as much as those from differing economic backgrounds.

Perkins said after trauma, “Then you have pain and how do you treat that pain?”

Hunt concurred with trauma being a root cause of addiction”but that’s a reason, not an excuse.” He said the first four, five years of life are critical “and you need invest in kids and help parents invest in kids.” Hunt later reminded all present of the Maine Statewide Crisis hotline at 1-888-568-1112.

Rep. Norm Higgins, R-Dover-Foxcroft said he believes in drawing a picture of what something should look like rather than what it is. He then asked “what are the barriers to get there?,” such as resources and finances.