PORTLAND, Ore.(March 26, 2015) – U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell today announced a targeted initiative aimed at reducing prescription opioid and heroin related overdose, death and dependence. Deaths from drug overdose have risen steadily over the past two decades and currently outnumber deaths from car accidents in the United States. For more information, see here.
Here in Oregon, our state leads the nation in abuse of opioids, with the highest rate of nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers in 2012. And in 2013, almost 1 in 4 Oregonians (908,000) received at least one prescription for opioid medications, many unused and stored unsafely.
Dr. Andrew Mendenhall, medical director of the Beaverton facility of the world-renowned nonprofit addiction treatment provider Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, is a nationally recognized expert on this issue, treating patients every day. He is also speaking next month in Atlanta at the National Prescription Drug Abuse Summit, and speaks regularly around the country on this topic.
Dr. Mendenhall is available to comment on his perspective on the issue of opioid abuse in the Portland area and can be reached at 503-310-4504 or 503-475-8989.
Andrew Mendenhall, M.D., is medical director of Hazelden in Beaverton. With particular expertise in medical detoxification, Dr. Mendenhall specializes in the complex care needs of patients with co-occurring mental-health, pain management and addiction medicine issues. He holds board certification by the American Board of Addictive Medicine and the American Board of Family Medicine and is a diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management.
About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is the nation’s largest nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 16 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care to help youth and adults reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, and an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children’s program, and is the nation’s leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery. Learn more at www.HazeldenBettyFord.org
Hazelden in Beaverton is an outpatient facility that combines cognitive behavioral treatment and other treatments with medications to help individuals become clean and sober. The treatment team includes leading experts in the field of alcohol and drug addiction and co-occurring disorders.
