Heartland hosting seminar on opioid abuse

[April 13, 2017] NORMAL - Heartland Community College is inviting nurses and the public to attend Pain Management in the Era of Opioid Abuse, a seminar that focuses on best practices and challenges for managing pain during today’s opioid abuse epidemic. The event is worth two continuing education units (CEUs) for nurses, however, any community member who has an interest in the topic is also encouraged to attend. It takes place Monday, April 17 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Astroth Community Education Center on Heartland’s Normal campus, 1500 W. Raab Rd.

Colleen Reynolds serves as Heartland’s director of college engagement and helped organize the seminar. She said the event was partly organized to address a nation-wide crisis. Citing a New York Times report, Reynolds comments, “The number of people who died from an opioid overdose more than quadrupled from 8,200 annually to 33,000 from 1999 to 2015. One county in Ohio saw deaths increase 20 percent in one year and the coroner had to ask for a cold storage trailer because the morgue was full.”

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, more people died from an opioid drug overdose in 2014 than from homicide or motor vehicle accidents. In 2015, 22 people in McLean County died from an overdose.

The event is also a learning opportunity for health care providers. According to Dean of Health and Human Services at HCC, Becky LaMont, “Heartland’s nursing program is currently celebrating a 97 percent NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) pass rate. Other programs in the community are also celebrating high pass rates which indicates we’re sending out highly prepared and capable professionals. As a community partner, we’re happy to provide a learning opportunity for nurses to continuously improve and gain even more skill and insight.”

Cost for Pain Management in the Era of Opioid Abuse includes dinner. The event features a keynote speech from Dr. Nicole Adams of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for Nursing and Healthcare as well as a presentation from McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis. Additionally, Donny Bounds, RN and chief operating officer for Millennium Pain Center, will moderate a panel of experts that address pain management and opioid abuse from various perspectives. Panelists include:

• McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis, DNP, FNP-BC

• Dr. Paul Naour, Pain Management and Anesthesia, McLean County Orthopedics

• McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage

• Bryan Hinman, Addictions Specialist, Chestnut Health Systems

Those interested in attending can go to the featured events section at heartland.edu or call 309-268-8188 to register.

[Becky Gropp]