The Opioid Epidemic Continues in Kansas and Missouri

Today, the Kansas City Star released an article outlining the counties who are hardest hit by the opioid crisis. Many of the rural counties are suffering because of limited access to addiction resources, more physical jobs that are more apt to have injuries, and lack of access to alternative methods of pain relief like physical therapy and acupuncture.

The CDC released this data, ranking counties nationwide, and one of our MO counties ranked 30th out of 3000. Howell County, near Springfield, MO.

We know the crisis is in full-swing and some of our most vulnerable populations are struck. There are options for addiction treatment in Kansas City and surrounding areas, and Kansas City Recovery can help.

Every family has unique needs and every addict has a personal story. Whether you need help with an Intervention to get your loved one to treatment, or help finding opiate detox or alcohol detox, there is help.

The numbers in the Kansas City Star article are frightening and sad. And I hope that MO continues to move forward to adopt a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, every little bit helps. There were several professionals interviewed in the article also that have adopted their own methods of dealing with addicts as they filter through ERs and pharmacies looking for early prescriptions or doctor shopping to obtain new prescriptions. Offering a non-narcotic pain med alternative, or turning down requests for refills for scripts that have been ‘lost’.

Opiate addiction is a very painful addiction and an equally difficult recovery process. As addicts, we need help and support from professionals who know how addiction works, and who can put together structured programs of action to combat the multi-faceted hold addiction has on us.

I think my greatest point to make here, is don’t stop looking for help. People say all the time they don’t know where to turn or who or what to look for to find help. And I want to say, don’t stop trying. The more we can learn and the more we can talk about the issue of addiction, the more help people will get.

Share this Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *