Addiction Treatment Providers in Omaha Serving More and More Kids

OMAHA, Neb. - April 5, 2018 - PRLog -- Addiction treatment providers in Omaha, Nebraska have been shown to be serving more and more kids with opioid-related intoxications.

The Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha has seen particularly significant increases in the number of minors that they admitted with an opioid intoxication.

The hospital only had a handful of admissions related to opioids in both 2015 and 2016 — all of the cases consisted of suicide attempts.

A total of 11 youths were admitted to the hospital because of opioids throughout last year. Of those cases, seven were suicide attempts and four were accidental intoxication.

The numbers may not be very high but they represent a substantial surge for the facility and prompted concerned staff members to act.

Physicians and addiction treatment providers have highlighted the need to get policymakers to address opioid use among young communities and pushed a Senate bill that has been recently cleared to limit opioid prescriptions to seven days.

If the new bill is officially approved, doctors and pharmacists will also be required to advise their patients about the dangers and side effects associated with opioids.

In January, the state became the first to require daily monitoring of all prescribed drugs dispensed by pharmacies. The database should help them to make sure their patients don't have a history of drug misuse.

The surge in opioid-related admissions involving minors in Omaha reflects the figures seen in the country. From 2004 and 2015, the U.S. had an overall increase in the number of minors who visited hospitals with opioid poisonings.

Furthermore, federal agencies recently estimated that over 100 minors go to emergency departments across the country each day due to opioids.

https://www.drugaddictionnow.com/2018/03/20/addiction-tre...