SOMERS POINT - Shore Medical Center recently announced it received a $20,000 donation representing the proceeds of the 2024 Kyle Evans Memorial Golf Outing. The annual event focuses on preventing new opioid addictions, raising awareness and helping people realize they are not fighting their addiction alone.
David Beyel Jr. presented the check to members of Shore’s leadership team Wednesday, April 16. Beyel is a member of OAR13, a nonprofit organization focused on attacking the opioid epidemic at its source and supporting new treatment methods in the community. To date, OAR13 has donated $80,000 to Shore Medical Center to help in the fight against opioid abuse.
“Everybody knows somebody who has been impacted by the opioid crisis in our region, and we thank the members of OAR13 for their generous donation to help us in the fight,” Shore Medical Center President and CEO David Hughes said. “The ongoing support from OAR13 has resulted in significant improvements in technology, policies and procedures related to pain management and patient care.”
“Thanks to the generosity of OAR13 and our dedicated staff, we have put many initiatives in place over the past four years that have resulted in a decreased use of opioids,” said Director of Pharmacy Shannon Burke. “We've also implemented several initiatives that focus on opioids, including a new Pharmacy-Driven IV to Oral Opioid Conversion Protocol, prioritizing non-opioid pain medication in the Emergency Room, and a partnership with Legacy Treatment Centers to help a patient’s transition from detox treatment to the outpatient setting.”
Opioid pain medications are associated with numerous adverse events, including sedation that can lead to respiratory depression and intubation. IV administration of opioids carry an increased risk of these serious adverse events compared to when taken orally. With the new “Pharmacy-Driven IV to Oral Opioid Conversion Protocol,” utilization of an individualized, multimodal pain management plan and prioritization of oral opioids can minimize the risk of opioid related adverse events and facilitate a safe, effective transition of care to the outpatient setting.
In addition, non-opioid pain management treatment options added to the current orders in the Emergency Department that providers use to assist with decreasing unnecessary opioid use.
As a result, from 2023-2024, Shore Medical Center has realized a 2.5% decrease in the number of opioid doses administered to hospitalized patients and an 3% decrease in the number of intravenous opioid doses administered to hospitalized patients.
Members of Shore’s pharmacy, nursing, providers, and case management workers are all actively working together with Legacy Treatment Centers to provide opioid detox treatment to patients who are hospitalized to assist them with transitioning to outpatient treatment at Legacy. The goal is to decrease the number of patients lost to follow-up and the number of patients who fall back into their addiction.
Additional initiatives that have implemented at Shore Medical Center over the past four years include: acquiring and implementing new AI software that monitors the use of controlled substances to prevent any diversions; the purchase and installation of new cabinetry, storage system and surveillance equipment to control medication use; providing naloxone discharge kits to patients after an opioid overdose or who display signs/symptoms of opioid and/or IV drug abuse; and offering a pharmacy pain consult service, through which providers can contact a pharmacist to perform a comprehensive chart review and provide patient-specific pain management recommendations.
The Kyle Evans Memorial Golf Outing will return to Harbor Pines Golf Club on Friday, May 16.
