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Bruce’s Law: Warning Of Pills with Deadly Fentanyl L ast fall, Sandy Snodgrass told her son Bruce, “Be careful out there,” as he left for a bike ride. Despite working toward his recovery, Bruce fatally overdosed that day due to fentanyl. The police officer who met Sandy where her son’s body was found had just come from notifying another family of an overdose death. The continuing rise in overdose deaths is driven largely by fentanyl, a particularly lethal synthetic opioid. Preliminary data shows that more than half of all overdose deaths in 2021 involved synthetic opioids. Nearly 90% of opioid overdose deaths involve fentanyl. Sandy is now working to ensure other families do not experience what hers did. Due to its potency and low cost, fentanyl is increasingly being found in other substances, including counterfeit pills and stimulants. People using these substances often do not know they contain opioids or fentanyl. It is imperative to raise public awareness about the proliferation of fentanyl and its risks. Bruce’s Law, named for Bruce Snodgrass, would bolster prevention and education efforts surrounding fentanyl. It would authorize a public education and awareness campaign on the dangers
Bruce Snodgrass
of substances contaminated with fentanyl and detection of early warning signs of addiction among youth, authorize the establishment of a Federal Interagency Working Group on Fentanyl and Contamination of Illegal Drugs, and provide grants for educating young people on the risks of substances contaminated with fentanyl. HR 2366, the Support, Treatment, and Overdose Prevention of Fentanyl Act of 2021 or the STOP Fentanyl Act of 2021, was
introduced by Rep. Ann Kuster (D-New Hampshire). It has 12 co-sponsors including Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) To give feedback on the bill, see https://www.congress.gov/bill/117thcongress/house-bill/2366. n ••• Editor’s note: Fentanyl deaths have increased in Santa Cruz County from 5 in 2019 to 19 in 2020 and 13 in the first five months of 2021.
Dominican Hospital’s Stroke Treatment Recognized
D
ignity Health Dominican Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus “Get With The Guidelines” awards for treating people with stroke or heart failure. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel
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that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is blocked by a clot or bursts. A heart attack occurs when the blood flow that brings oxygen to the heart muscle is severely reduced or cut off completely. Early detection and treatment are
key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times. To receive the Gold Plus award, hospitals must achieve 85% or higher adherence to all the guideline indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods. In the late 1990s, stroke care in the U.S. was fragmented, and rates of stroke and mortality were high. In 2004, intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) was the only approved therapy for stroke, but only 2% of patients nationwide received that treatment. This led the Heart Association to press for hospitals to provide this treatment in a timely fashion, within two hours. Analysis of the first 1 million patients found inhospital mortality decreased. “Stroke Treatment” page 14
