Kilmer Calls for Increased Access to Critical Opioid Overdose Prevention Tools in Rural Communities
TACOMA, WA – Today, Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) called for increased access to critical opioid overdose medication and prevention tools for communities in Washington state, particularly rural areas. Kilmer urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand grants and programs that make naloxone kits more readily available to qualified personnel and organizations. Naloxone is a prescription medication that prevents opioid overdoses from becoming fatal.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell, Kilmer noted that naloxone is used by medical professionals and first responders to successfully prevent deaths from overdoses. Recently, Washington state has pushed to expand access to organizations and families that are likely to face an opioid overdose. But the number of kits available in rural communities on the Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere has not kept up with demand. For instance, Clallam County has seen an overdose death rate that is double Washington state’s average yet only recently received a limited number of naloxone kits.
Kilmer wrote in the letter sent today: “While opioid use has no boundaries, limited public transportation, a lack of treatment facilities and long distances between health care providers can make it difficult for those who live in rural communities to access necessary drug treatment. In an emergency situation, such as an overdose, access to treatment and care can become even more difficult. To prevent deaths by opioid overdose and allow for those who use opioids, their families and service providers have the resources they need in a time of emergency, it is critical that naloxone be available and easily accessible.”
In Washington state, more than 500 people die from opioid overdoses every year. Overall, 18,893 Americans died from an opioid overdose in 2014.
Kilmer is also a cosponsor of a bipartisan bill to help local law enforcement and medical personnel deal with the opioid problem. The Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 would initiate new guidance and best practices for medical professionals while reauthorizing Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP) essential to law enforcement. The bill would also increase access to naloxone.
Full text of the letter sent today follows.
The Honorable Sylvia Matthews Burwell, Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Burwell:
Our country faces a severe challenge in our rural communities. The death rate from drug overdoses has increased across the nation and opioids are involved in more than 60 percent of those fatal overdoses. In Washington state, more than 500 people die of opioid overdoses each year. While communities on the Olympic Peninsula in my home state and elsewhere continue to pursue long-term solutions to the growing challenge of drug abuse more can be done in the short-term to save lives. For this reason, I urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase access to naloxone in rural areas and continue to work with local leaders to bolster opioid treatment resources.
As you may know, naloxone is a prescription medicine that blocks or reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. The medication has traditionally been used by emergency medical personnel to resuscitate those who experience an opiate overdose. Due to the growing number of opiate-related deaths, distribution of naloxone has expanded. In Washington state, health care providers that have prescriptive authority and pharmacists who have signed a collaborative agreement with those who have prescriptive authority can distribute take-home naloxone to anyone at risk for having or witnessing an opioid overdose. This includes non-medical providers and community-based distribution programs that can give this life-saving drug to those at high-risk.
Although the number of providers and organizations trained to distribute naloxone has increased, many parts of my state lack access to naloxone kits. This is particularly concerning in rural regions where opioid use is high and emergency health care services are not immediately available. In fact, Clallam County Washington has nearly twice the state’s overdose death rate yet funding only recently became available to begin its first naloxone distribution program. However, this funding only supported 200 doses of medication for a population of more than 850 people who participate in the county’s needle exchange program. While it is a start, more resources are desperately needed.
To ensure communities that are battling opioid use have the tools they need, I ask that HHS continue to increase funding for grants that expand access to naloxone kits and work with states and rural communities to develop programs that will make naloxone easily accessible to opioid users, family member and those that work directly with people dealing with drug addiction. Additionally, I would like to request a meeting with members of the HHS team that work on opioid and illicit drug use policies to better understand what I and Congress can do to support HHS in expanding access to naloxone and opioid treatment programs in rural communities.
Clallam County is not unique. In 2013, twenty seven states were reported to lack community-based naloxone distribution programs and nine states had less than one person per 100,000 members of the population who had received a naloxone kit. While opioid use has no boundaries, limited public transportation, a lack of treatment facilities and long distances between health care providers can make it difficult for those who live in rural communities to access necessary drug treatment. In an emergency situation, such as an overdose, access to treatment and care can become even more difficult. To prevent deaths by opioid overdose and allow for those who use opioids, their families and service providers have the resources they need in a time of emergency, it is critical that naloxone be available and easily accessible.
I want to thank you for your ongoing attention to the opioid crisis we are experiencing and your continued work with rural communities. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee I look forward to partnering with you in this effort.
###