On Nov. 8 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Oregon State University will be hosting a seminar called “Upstream Prevention: Strategies for Addressing Opioid Overdoses in Multnomah.”
Dr. Richard Bruno, a Multnomah County health officer, will host this seminar. It can be attended in person at the Hallie E. Ford Center in room 115 or over Zoom, which can be found on the event website.
“(This event is designed) to help students who are trying to understand the system that we are in right now and how dangerous fentanyl is. (There are) different approaches that we can take to help people from dying of fentanyl,” Bruno said.
Bruno had been asked to host this seminar by Dr. Marie Harvey, OSU distinguished professor of public health and associate dean for research. “(Dr. Harvey) thought it would be very interesting for students to learn about public health and prevention, especially around a very hot topic like addiction,” Bruno said.
“Today, there is no system of care that takes care of people with addictions or with fentanyl overdoses. And in fact our mortality rate is around 31 (people) per 100,000, so it’s even higher than it was for motor vehicle crashes back in the 60s and 70s,” Dr. Bruno added.
There are primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies according to Bruno, which means that actions can be taken at three different stages: Before the addiction, during the addiction or during an overdose.
Bruno explained that Naloxone is a medicine that reverses opioid overdoses by being sprayed up the individual’s nose. He added that he would be willing to demonstrate during the seminar.
“Many of us can take an easy option of carrying Naloxone with us wherever we go in case we see somebody outside who has overdosed, we can save their lives,” said Bruno.
