Chancellor's Communique
Using our expertise to fight the opioid crisis, 4-23-19
Dear colleagues,The opioid epidemic is devastating communities, families and individuals across Colorado and the country. On average 130 Americans die every day from opioid overdose; it was responsible for 560 deaths in Colorado in 2017. And for every death, there are many more people struggling with opioid addiction.
Nicholas Antonio is one of them. His experience as a survivor of the Columbine school shooting 20 years ago led to significant post-traumatic stress disorder, and he turned to opioids to cope. After a downward spiral that included jail time, he finally found the help he needed at the Sheridan Health Services clinic, operated by the CU College of Nursing. There he received medication-assisted treatment (MAT), a whole-patient approach that combines FDA-approved medications with counseling and behavioral therapies. The approach not only worked for Nicholas; it has proven so effective in treating opioid addiction that governments at all levels are expanding access to it – including throughout rural Colorado, with the help of our nursingand medical schools.
MAT is just one among many fronts from which the CU Anschutz Medical Campus is tackling opioid abuse. To address the massive scale of the crisis, we’re marshaling our resources across the spectrum of health fields.
CU Anschutz is home to the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, which coordinates the statewide response to the opioid epidemic. Since its establishment in 2013, this pioneering collaboration has leveraged state and institutional investments to address drug abuse. Operated out of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and with input from all disciplines on campus, the consortium’s innovative approach has been cited in national analysis of successful responses to the opioid epidemic.
Through a range of offerings, from hour-long seminars to master’s degree concentrations, we’re educating current and future health providers to navigate the complexities in preventing and treating opioid abuse.
Inside our labs, researchers are seeking to answer questions at the heart of the epidemic.
In addition to providing a variety of treatment options, our clinicians are developing ways to better use electronic health records to identify potential abuse.
We’re doing much more than will fit in one email – you can find further details here.
With the well-being of the communities we serve at the heart of our mission, we have both the capability and the responsibility to address the seriousness and complexity of the opioid crisis broadly, and in concert with many other institutions. There is no single fix, but by attacking it from all sides we are making progress.
Best,
Don Elliman
Chancellor