44 THE QUEENS COURIER • WELLNESS • FEBRUARY 21, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Jamaica Hospital First In Queens To Join HealingNYC’s Relay
The opioid epidemic continues to plague New
York City communities. According to the City’s
Department of Health, there were 694 confirmed
overdose deaths from January to June 2018, and
a fatal drug overdose reported every six hours.
More New Yorkers die as a result of drug overdose
than homicides, suicides and motor vehicle accidents
combined.
In Queens, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center which
operates one of the City’s busiest emergency
departments, has experienced firsthand the
the opioid crisis,” shared Dr. Shi-Wen Lee, Vice
detriment the epidemic has caused. Last year,
Chairman of Emergency Medicine. In addition to
Jamaica Hospital’s emergency department treated
providing life-saving treatments in the emergency
over 200 patients for opioid drug overdoses.
department, the hospital is the first in Queens to
“Over the years, we have seen the numbers
participate in New York City’s Relay program.
continue to increase significantly. This epidemic
The Relay program, which was launched in 2017
has profoundly affected many individuals and
under HealingNYC, targets survivors of opioid
families. Opioid addiction has impacted all genders,
overdoses who are at high risk for a future, fatal
ages, ethnicities and those of all socioeconomic
overdose. According to New York City’s Department
backgrounds,” explained Dr. Geoffrey Doughlin,
of Health, “In the hours after someone survives
Chairman of Emergency Medicine. “No group is
an opioid overdose, a trained Relay “Wellness
untouched.”
Advocate” meets with the survivor in the hospital
“At Jamaica Hospital our goal is to improve the
emergency department to offer overdose risk
health of our community in all aspects. We are
reduction counseling, overdose rescue training,
committed to doing all that we can to combat
and an overdose prevention kit containing naloxone.
Participating hospitals can contact Relay at any
hour of the day or night, on every day of the year,
and a Wellness Advocate aims to arrive within
the hour. Wellness Advocates stay in contact with
overdose survivors for up to 90 days and connect
them to appropriate services”
“Jamaica Hospital is proud to work in collaboration
with Relay. Since the program’s inception in August
2018 at this facility, our emergency department
has made over 50 patient referrals,” said Joshua
Sclair, Emergency Medicine Administrator. The
hospital’s participation in the initiative offers the
community resources that can potentially reduce
the number of overdose deaths and provide access
to supportive services.
Any person in need of treatment for their
addiction can come to the emergency department
at Jamaica Hospital and receive help. The hospital
has designated detoxification beds and staff
that are specially trained to help patients with
their treatment.
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