Mayor Jacobs recently convened the first Orange County Prescription Drug Abuse Summit, which focused on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and was created following Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi\u2019s Statewide Task Force in Orlando in October last year.<\/p>\n
Orange County currently ranks third in the reported number of babies withdrawing from drugs in the state. Consequently, the Summit was held at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, which boasts the largest neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) in the area and is a national leader in treating infants born with addiction issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the Mayor of Orange County and a parent, the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs among our youth, young adults and expectant mothers is of such concern to me. Today\u2019s summit provides a great opportunity to work with our hospitals and physicians, law enforcement, state partners, treatment providers and community agencies to create the best plan of action,\u201d Mayor Jacobs said. \u201cAs providers of care, most of you\u2014our nurses, doctors, first responders and others \u2014 see first the impact of drug abuse and addiction. Your efforts are making a difference and, thankfully, our Medical Examiner reports a decline in prescription drug-related deaths in Orange County\u2014certainly good news, but we want those numbers even lower.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Mayor Jacobs\u2019 first initiatives was tackling this issue head on. In July 2011, she formed the county\u2019s first Prescription Drug Task Force to address the escalating problem of prescription drug abuse in Orange County communities. A collaborative effort of law enforcement, healthcare and pharmacy working with education and public policy, the task force examined the extent of the prescription drug problem, conducted a review of state legislation and local ordinances and determined the need for substantive regulations for pain management clinics through a collaborative, multijurisdictional effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI applaud the Sheriff\u2019s Office, the MBI and our local law enforcement for their continued efforts to combat illegal pain clinic and rogue pharmacy operations. But each of us also has a role to play, particularly in safeguarding access to powerful medicines in our own medicine cabinet,\u201d Mayor Jacobs said. \u201cWorking with local partners, we\u2019re trying to keep prescription medication out of the hands of addicts or susceptible family members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Jacobs closed her remarks by introducing Florida\u2019s Surgeon General and Secretary of Health, John Armstrong, M.D., who has championed the use of innovative technologies along with \u201cold-fashioned accountability\u201d as a means of boosting public health for all Floridians.<\/p>\n
The rest of the Summit featured panel discussions from local and national law enforcement officers, government administrators and physicians on the impact of new drugs, law enforcement trends and treatment and community resources.<\/p>\n