Advocacy for State Summit on Opioids_Correspondence to Governor Reynolds Copyrighted
June 19, 2017
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 17.
ITEM TITLE: Advocacy for State Summit on Opioids
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval for the Mayor to
execute a letter on behalf of the City of Dubuque
supporting an Opioid Summit and state policy
development.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Advocacy for State Summit on Opioids-MVM Memo City Manager Memo
Memo Staff Memo
Letter Supporting Documentation
THE CITY OF Dubuque
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Advocacy for State Summit on Opioids
DATE: June 14, 2017
Public Health Specialist Mary Rose Corrigan recommends City Council approval for the
Mayor to execute a letter on behalf of the City of Dubuque supporting an Opioid Summit
and state policy development.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
V Gam,
Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Mary Rose Corrigan, Public Health Specialist
THE CITY OF Dubuque
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DUB E I I III a I.t I
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2007-2012-2013
TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Mary Rose Corrigan, Public Health Specialist
SUBJECT: Advocacy for State Summit on Opioids
DATE: June 14, 2017
INTRODUCTION
Iowa State Representative Chuck Isenhart and the Dubuque Opioid Response Team
are requesting the City Council's support an Iowa State Summit on Opioids to address
the increasing problem with over-opioid use, addiction, and mortality due to opioids.
BACKGROUND
Opioid use and overdose deaths represent a public health crisis requiring innovating,
evidence-based responses with community involvement. Opioid overdose mortality
represents a major and preventable threat to public health. Deaths from unintentional
drug poisoning have reached crisis levels in the United States and in Iowa. Last year in
Dubuque, we had nine opioid-related overdose deaths, and three have occurred already
this year. Other communities in Iowa are also experiencing the devastating effects of
illicit opioids.
DISCUSSION
A local, community-based opioid response team, facilitated by Mercy Medical Center,
has assembled and is meeting regularly. To date, they have educated 217 community
and health professionals, along with 90 law enforcement personnel, on Nalaxone
administration and promoted community-based organizations to educate the community
on the opioid misuse problem. Much of the task force work has become a model for the
state.
Representative Isenhart is requesting a State Summit on Opioids to assess Iowa's
situation, look at best practices from other states, and work together to develop key
priorities and formulate policies.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the Mayor to sign the attached letter on behalf of the City of Dubuque
supporting an Opioid Summit and state policy development.
THE CITY OF
DUB
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Masterpiece on the Miss
June 13, 2017
Governor Kim Reynolds
State of Iowa
1007 East Grand Ave
Des Moines, IA 50319
Dear Governor Reynolds:
Dubuque
All -America City
11 111!
2007 • 2012 • 2013
Office of the Mayor
City Hall
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4805
www.cityofdubuque.org
At their 2016 meeting in Iowa, the National Governors' Association agreed to its first
compact in more than a decade: A Compact to fight Opioid Addiction was signed by 46
governors. The agreement called to engage in collective action, redoubling states'
efforts to fight the opioid epidemic with new steps to reduce inappropriate prescribing,
change the nation's understanding of opioids and addiction, and ensure a pathway to
recovery for individuals suffering from addiction.
Opioid use and overdose deaths represent a public health crisis requiring innovating,
evidence -based responses with community involvement. Opioid overdose mortality
represents a major and preventable threat to public health. Deaths from unintentional
drug poisoning have reached crisis levels in the United States and in Iowa. Last year in
Dubuque, we had nine opioid -related overdose deaths, and three have occurred already
this year. Other communities in Iowa are also experiencing the devastating effects of
illicit opioids.
A growing body of evidence and experience supports innovating community -level
approaches to preventing opioid overdose deaths in the broader context of efforts to
reduce the risk of overdose through primary prevention of opioid misuse. Numerous
pilot programs and evaluations have demonstrated the feasibility and viability of
providing opioid education to the community, to health care providers, including
Nalaxone administration, use, and education on the opioid prescription monitoring
program.
Service
People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
Consider the following facts:
1. Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined:
116 million people experience chronic pain in the United States every year.
2. The United States accounts for less than five percent of the world's population,
but consumes about 75 percent of its prescription drugs. In Iowa, in 2015, 303
million doses of pain medication were prescribed.
3. 75 percent of heroin users "started out" abusing prescription pain medications.
4. Opioids accounted for 61 percent of the nearly half a million drug overdose
deaths in the United States from 2000 to 2014.
5. In 2014, 1555 emergency room visits to Iowa hospitals involved opioid use as a
casual or contributing factor, accounting for 44 percent of all cases.
6. Data for 2015 from the Iowa Bureau of Health Statistics show that 56 overdose
deaths occurred in Iowa where an opioid was identified as the primary cause of
death in the medical examiners' reports; a total of 137 deaths occurred where
opioids were referenced as part of the medical examiners' reports.
7. Since 1999, the national rate of opioid overdoses has quadrupled, resulting in
33,484 deaths in 2015, which is higher than traffic accident deaths.
8. Many people with opioid use disorder are being "treated" by our law enforcement
and corrections systems rather than by our health care system. The Iowa
Division of Criminal Investigations reports that the number of criminal case
laboratory submissions involving heroin, fentanyl, or illicit synthetic opioids
increased 324 percent from 2010 (70) to 2016 (297).
9. Annually, more than 72 prescriptions for opioid drugs are written for every 100
Iowans.
10. Less than 37 percent of Iowa drug prescribers and only 75 percent of
pharmacists are registered to use the state's prescription drug monitoring
program.
The Dubuque City Council has been monitoring the increasing opioid crisis and we are
very concerned about the growing impact on our community. A local, community-based
opioid response team has assembled and is meeting regularly. To date, they have
educated 217 community and health professionals, along with 90 law enforcement
personnel, on Nalaxone administration and promoted community-based organizations
to educate the community on the opioid misuse problem. Much of the task force work
has become a model for the state.
In order to effectively achieve policy gains in the legislature next year, the advance work
needs to start now. And we are ready. Your leadership is needed to bring decision -
makers and key stakeholders to assess Iowa's situation, look at best practices from
other states, and work together to develop key priorities and formulate policy. We
request convening a summit on the opioid epidemic and offer Dubuque stakeholders to
participate. The summit could review model policies and programs from other
communities and states, examine good Samaritan legislation, and the use of the
prescription monitoring program, just to name a few.
Please consider starting the policy ground work to prepare for effective legislation that
could happen in the 2018 legislative session.
Sincerely,
Mayor'Roy Buol
City of Dubuque