White House Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Meets with Holy Family University 护理 Students

Dr. 拉胡尔古普塔, the White House Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, visited 费城 during the week of April 17 to discuss the fentanyl 和 xylazine crisis.

At Savage Sisters Recovery Wound Care Clinic, Dr. 古普塔 met with Holy Family students Timothy "TJ" Pritz '24 和 Alivia Roberts '24, who volunteer at Savage Sisters every Thursday. 

Pritz 和 Roberts had the opportunity to speak with Dr. 古普塔 about their work at the clinic, which involves providing care to addicts who are seeking medical attention for their wounds. 这些伤口, being a product of the xylazine, have the potential to leave tendons, 肌肉, 和 even bones exposed. Once the addicts seeking wound care are admitted, medical teams will typically start them on detox, rather than treating their pain, which is the priority problem in these circumstances. 在本质上, these wounds are extremely painful 和 addicts are not given any pain medication to make the hospital stay bearable. 

"Dr. 古普塔, TJ, 和 I spoke about ways healthcare facilities could put pain as the priority while putting detox as a second priority," explains Roberts. "The problem at h和 comes into play once their 'high' has worn off/the street drugs are no longer in their system. At this point, it is easier for addicts to return to the street to treat their pain with recreational drugs vs staying at the hospital. We all agreed 和 acknowledged there should be a 'xylazine protocol' for when addicts come into the hospital. This protocol would allow healthcare teams to better 和 more efficiently treat addicts by prioritizing their pain. 用这个, addicts would be able to endure their hospital stay while also getting the adequate 和 necessary medical attention they need. 

"Another important component of this conversation is the manner hospital staff approach addicts. In many cases, addicts are detoured from going to the hospital due to bad experiences they have had in the past. 博士. 古普塔, we are trying to create a friendlier, unprejudiced environment in which addicts will feel safe 和 cared for so they can receive medical attention. Although we all underst和 movements like this take time, it's good to know we are taking the first steps to put our plans into action." 

“费城 is experiencing intensified effects from fentanyl combined with xylazine, but their response is intensified, 太,”医生说。. 古普塔 声明. “The City of Brotherly Love is showing our nation what’s possible when everyone across public health, public safety, harm reduction, 和 beyond come together to take on a common threat. The historic 和 coordinated work being done in 费城 will help shape our national response to xylazine.”

For more information about these programs, please visit the School of 护理 & 健康 Sciences webpage.