PROMO Government - Medical Weisbrod Memorial Hospital Eads Colorado - Chris Sorensen

Kiowa County Hospital District joins project to reduce opioid use

Weisbrod Memorial Hospital in Eads, Colorado. © KiowaCountyPress.net / Chris Sorensen

Char Korrell, Kiowa County Hospital District CEO

Kiowa County Hospital District has joined the Colorado ALTO (Alternatives to Opioids) Project to reduce the administration of opioids in the hospital’s emergency department (ED). Kiowa County Hospital District’s goal is to improve pain management for its patients and return them to a maximum quality of life while also recognizing and controlling the inherent risks of prescribing highly addictive medications like opioids. Kiowa County Hospital District’s clinicians are dedicated to understanding and responding appropriately to their patients’ physical and emotional symptoms of pain in addition to taking steps to help the community combat the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Minimizing patients' initial exposure to opioid medications is a crucial step in every hospital's role to fight the opioid epidemic, and we believe it is important to implement this proven initiative because of the positive impact it can have on the community we serve.

This project implements components from the 2017 Opioid Prescribing & Treatment Guidelines developed by the Colorado chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in KCH’s ED. These guidelines include using alternatives to opioids (ALTOs) as a first line of defense in treating patients with painful conditions before resorting to opioids.

Colorado is at the forefront of the nation’s opioid epidemic with the 12^th highest rate of prescription opioid misuse and abuse out of all 50 states. Colorado hospitals, particularly the emergency departments, are in a strong position to integrate new and more effective pain management treatments that are tailored to each patient’s unique pain experience.

In January 2018, Colorado Hospital Association announced the results of the Colorado Opioid Safety Pilot initiated in 10 emergency departments across the state in 2017. During the six-month pilot, the participating facilities reduced the administration of opioids by an average of 36 percent and increased the usage of ALTOs (Alternatives to Opioids) by 31 percent.

Kiowa County Hospital District is very pleased to be joining this effort to reduce the opioid epidemic in Colorado.