More than three Arizonans a day have died from opioid overdose in the last two years. That was one of two reoccurring issues presented during the Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership meeting Sept. 3.
The information was presented by Sheila Sjolander, assistant director for the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“In 2019 and 2020, fentanyl was the most commonly identified substance in the opioid overdoses,” she said.
Merilee Fowler, executive director of MATFORCE, a nonprofit organization that works to prevent substance abuse, brought recommendations from Arizona Prevention Funding workgroups. One of her recommendations was the need for ASAP to create a unified and comprehensive statewide prevention plan.
Kathleen Grimes, executive director of the Graham County Substance Abuse Coalition, is holding a sixth-grade project event. In this project, she explained that the Graham County Substance Abuse Coalition travels around to all schools and, “provides education on underage drinking, the risk of marijuana use, prescription drug abuse and resistant strategies.”
They also host a back to school resource event to help support students, she said.
Finding affordable care is another issue that ASAP has hit a wall with many times.
Vice-Chairperson Sara Salek reported that the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System’s Role in Prevention and Treatment (AHCCCS) is the largest single insurer in the state of Arizona according to the ASAP February 2020 meeting minutes. This means that in Arizona, 1 in 4 individuals is covered by AHCCCS.
“We negotiate contract rates that are below insurance standard. We take less than what we are offered by insurance companies,” said CEO Lee Pioski of The Crossroads, Inc., a rehabilitation center located across Metro Phoenix. “We receive about $149 a day for residency from Mercy Care Plan.” Mercy Care Plan made up 31.61% of Crossroads, Inc. payer mix in 2019.
From 2012 through 2018, the rate of deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential (drugs such as methamphetamines) increased by nearly fivefold (from 0.8 to 3.9) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“In 2019, methamphetamines took over first place from opioids at Crossroads,” explained Pioski.
Sargent Stoks, a substance abuse prevention specialist, published an article that said “federal, state and local law enforcement saw a 342% increase in methamphetamine seizures from FY 2015 to FY 2019.” Thus, proving the point from the article that claimed, “methamphetamine is Arizona’s #1 drug threat.”
“Community partnerships is crucial to Naloxone distribution across Arizona with 324,282 doses distributed and 9,111 reported overdoses reversed,” Salek said in the ASAP’s February 2020 meeting notes.
According to the data provided by Pioski, methamphetamines accounted for 43% of the 2019 reported drug of choice at intake.
The ASAP identifies a new substance to gather data and discuss recommendations for the state each quarter. It will review this data and discuss it at their next meeting, which will be Dec. 3. Sheila Polk, chair of the Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership, said that its next substance to review would be fentanyl.
“ASAP are the leaders, identified by the governor, on substance abuse in Arizona. It’s incumbent on us to look at this report and these recommendations and make some decisions about what we feel should happen next,” Polk said, wrapping up the meeting.
