The group tasked with developing strategies to combat drug overdoses and deaths, is set to deliver recommendations to the Governor. The panel was created earlier this year to help combat the issue of opioid overdoses and deaths in the state.
Governor Raimondo said the group will outline strategies to curb the growing trend.
“Some of it may require legislation; some of it will require better coordination, some of its going to require dealing with doctors and dentists around prescribing patterns,” said Raimondo. “But I am committed to it, because we can’t keep allowing hundreds of people to die every year.”
The group has already outlined several strategies to combat the growing problem. Those strategies include widely distributing anti-overdose medications, such as Narcan, and making addiction treatment more accessible.
Raimondo said she plans to stick with the issue until numbers decrease.
“It is measurable,” said Raimondo. “We have a baseline, we know how many overdoses there are a year, we know how many accidental deaths there are a year, and we need to hold ourselves accountable to reducing those numbers.”
According to the Department of Health, already 157 people have died due to drug overdoses this year. Raimondo says the task force will likely also recommend legislative changes.
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