With Deaths from Opioid Abuse Skyrocketing, Area Leaders Join Forces to Curb Regional Opioid Misuse and Abuse
Houston, Texas, Sept. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Story
Since 2013, deaths in Harris County associated with opioid overdose are up a staggering 135%.
In response, officials with the Houston Health Department, regional health departments, University of Houston College of Nursing and HCA Houston Healthcare will announce a weeklong awareness effort starting Monday, September 16 to curb the growing misuse and addiction to prescription pain medications.
The citywide effort will culminate Saturday, September 21 when individuals can turn in tablets, capsules and patches of Codeine, Hydrocodone, Demerol, Oxycodone, Darvon and other opioids at 13 HCA Houston Healthcare-affiliated hospitals and facilities and the University of Houston at Sugar Land.
A complete list of participating HCA Houston Healthcare hospitals and facilities is available at www.hcahealthcare.com/crushthecrisis or by calling (833) 582-1970.
When
Details of the weeklong awareness effort and the Crush The Crisis drug take-back day will be presented Monday, September 16 at 10:30 a.m.
Where
Houston City Hall Legacy Room
901 Bagby, 1st Floor
Presenting Speakers
Dr. David Persse, Houston Health Department Health Authority and EMS Medical Director
Dr. Stephen Nesbit, Chief Medical Officer, HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division
Kathryn Tart, Dean of the University of Houston College of Nursing
About HCA Houston Healthcare
HCA Houston Healthcare is the leading provider of healthcare in the Houston area where excellent trained physicians, nurses and allied health professionals treat almost a million patients and provide more than $2 billion in charity care every year. With an employee base of 15,000, HCA Houston Healthcare’s comprehensive network includes 14 hospitals, nine outpatient surgery centers, ten freestanding emergency centers and numerous freestanding diagnostic imaging facilities in the greater Houston area. It also includes a regional transfer center that provides one-phone-call access and support for patient transfers into and out of HCA-affiliated facilities as well as access to ground and air transportation within a 150-mile radius. For more information, visit www.HCAHoustonHealthcare.com.
HCA Houston Healthcare is part of HCA Healthcare’s Gulf Coast Division, a comprehensive network of hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, emergency centers and diagnostic imaging facilities in greater Houston, Corpus Christi and South Texas. Facilities in the Gulf Coast Division include: 17 hospitals, nine ambulatory care centers, 15 off-campus emergency centers, and a regional transfer center that provides one phone call access and support for patient transfers into and out of the HCA Gulf Coast Division affiliated hospitals as well as access to ground and air transportation within a 150-mile radius. HCA Gulf Coast Division is part of HCA Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of quality healthcare services with 185 hospitals in the United States and England.
Attachment
Debra Burbridge HCA Gulf Coast Division 281-851-6275 Debra.Burbridge@HCAhealthcare.com
