Governor Tom Wolf declares opioid disaster; here’s what it means

On today’s edition of Smart Talk:

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has declared the heroin and opioid epidemic a statewide disaster emergency.  The declaration makes history as it is the first-of-its-kind for a public health emergency in Pennsylvania.

The governor’s action has 13 initiatives that include establishing an Opioid Command Center at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency in Harrisburg and allowing Emergency Medical Service providers to dispense Naloxone that can be used to save overdose patients.

The Centers for Disease Control reports more than 52 hundred Pennsylvanians died of overdoses in 2017 — an increase of more than 600 from the year before.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Policy and Planning Sarah Galbally appears on Thursday’s Smart Talk to explain what the emergency disaster declaration means.

Here is additional information about fentanyl that was discussed during the program:

Fentanyl is legally prescribed by physicians, including fentanyl patches, etc., often for chronic or severe pain.  It is Schedule II.  The fentanyl that is on the streets is more often referred to as illegal fentanyl or nonpharmaceutical fentanyl. 

 Information here from the CDC on both legal and illegal fentanyl.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5729a1.htm

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