TRENDS Downward Brazoria and Galveston counties have seen declines in the opioid dispensing rate since 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The declines in opioid dispensing suggest health care providers have become more cautious in their opioid prescribing practices, according to the CDC. PLUMMETING PRESCRIPTION RATES Brazoria County
Galveston County
CONTINUED FROM 1
doubled in Texas from January 2019 to January 2021, and there was an additional 30% increase in deaths from October 2020 to October 2021, the most recent data available. “When people are economically challenged or psy- chologically challenged as many of us have been over the past two years, we see increased vulnerability in our communities to opioid use and other forms of substance misuse,” said Tyler Varisco, a health ser- vices researcher with the University of Houston. With increased isolation and financial stresses, COVID-19 further exacerbated struggles against the opioid epidemic in Texas. Recovery treatment transi- tioned into less effective online services, and access to quality treatment became more complicated, accord- In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies began marketing prescription opioid pain relievers as drugs that were not as addictive as previously thought, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. As a result, these drugs, which had formerly been pre- scribed only to treat acute pain, became the prescrip- tion of choice to treat chronic, long-term pain. Les McColgin, a liaison for sobering center Hous- ton Recovery Center who used opioids for 35 years, witnessed this change firsthand. “Back in the late ’90s, you had the situation with Purdue Pharma and the new drug oxycontin … and that whole situation where they were able to coerce ing to local experts. Opioid usage varies
95.9
0 20 40 60 80 100
77.1
41.24
Both counties saw a sharp decline between 2018 and 2019.
27.93
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Emergency visits increased between 2019 and 2020 for both counties. OPIOID-RELATED EMERGENCIES
120 80 200 160
160
160
118
83
40
0
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
SOURCES: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
2022 Kia EV6
The all-electric EV6 is designed to inspire with a driver centric cockpit, Dual Panoramic Screens, an available Augmented Reality Head-Up Display, the spaciousness of a 5-passenger crossover, and up to 310miles of EPA estimated all-electric range on a single charge. Innovation that inspires.
DON’T PAY OVERMSRP
0-60 MPH in 4.6 seconds, faster than a Porsche Cayenne Coupe
Gain 217 miles of range with only 18minutes of fast charging
FortBendKia.com
24
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook