Shortage of specialists: a possible factor in growing drug epidemic

Opioid addiction continues to be a growing problem across the U.S., and the Eastern Shore is no exception.

Numbers revealed Wednesday found the cases of heroin overdoses treated at Peninsula Regional Medical Center (“PRMC”) in 2016 as of May are double what they for all of 2014.

PRMC reports the hospital’s trauma team has treated 171 cases as of May 2016, compared to 82 for all of 2014.

“We need to provide more resources,” says Senator Ben Cardin. “We need to help alternative models or dealing with law enforcement. We need to deal with community health facilities. We need to deal with providing the resources to combat this crisis.”

District 37 Senator Addie Eckhart agrees, but she says it’s not just about the number of hospitals or treatment centers on the Eastern Shore. According to Senator Eckhart, it’s also about having an adequate workforce to fill those spots.

The Pew Charitable Trusts, which funds the Pew Research Center, reports the national average is 32 behavioral health specialists for every 1,000 people affected by substance abuse disorder.

Eckhart suggests the community needs to make an investment, possibly starting with identifying high school students and getting them interested in careers in the field of addictions or behavioral health.

“I know as legislators, we have the opportunity to provide scholarships and a lot of times, I will target students and then track them to be able to encourage them along the way to work in Maryland,” explains Senator Eckhardt.

The problem of drug abuse, according to Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis, doesn’t go away with more arrests but perhaps instead, more options.

“We’re going to do our part in law enforcement but we would rather work more closely with our healthcare professionals to really bring some solutions to this epidemic across the country,” Sheriff Lewis tells 47ABC.

Senator Cardin admits solutions are not cheap; however, one of the goals for September is to open up talks on how extra money could be provided to fight the heroin crisis across the country.