“There really are structural, physiologic changes in the brain of someone who is addicted and someone who is not. This reinforces the idea that opioid misuse is a real disease. That’s important because there is still the mentality among some people that this is a choice that people can just stop using these drugs.”
Dr. Nichole Quick Interim County Health Officer
1
pre-fabricated case and contact
help and to look over the investigation
OC. She also said the county has
scripts) to better understand the
forms beforehand.” Upon arriving for
a higher overall rate of overdose
signs, symptoms and transmission
duty, responding surge PHNs will
deaths from opioids than the state
of the “disease du jour” (measles),
be given a briefing of the situation,
average. California averages just
to practice how to conduct case and
resource materials and just-in-time
over five opioid related deaths per
contact investigations, and to famil-
training as needed.
100-thousand residents while OC
iarize themselves with the investi-
Nurses were then given some
averages nearly eight. Dr. Quick told
gation forms. Although the focus of
encouraging but also concerning
nurses opioid use can become an
this practice session happened to
information on opioids in OC from
addiction, because it impacts the
be measles, Dr. Cheung explained
Interim County Health Officer Dr.
neurobiology of a person, “There
how PHN could prepare for any
Nichole Quick. She said there’s
really are structural, physiologic
disease before responding in an
been a decrease in the county in
changes in the brain of someone
outbreak, “Most of the diseases you’ll
the number of opioid-related over-
encounter will have a case investiga-
dose deaths (OD) from prescrip-
tion form to guide you to know what
tion opioid use. But the number of
questions to ask. It’s also good to read
OD deaths from synthetic forms
up on the disease if you’re called on to
of opioids has been increasing in
. . . continued on page 20
1. Measles Investigation Quicksheet, part of training for public health nurses. 2. Nurses at Epi 101 training listening to Jenna Sarin, Director Public Health Nursing.
2
JUNE 2019
5