REGION
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Rising painkiller abuse outpaces available treatment
Forums explore chronic pain and opioid abuse
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Dr. Chuck Hofmann helps
people addicted to prescription
painkillers find their way back to
normal life.
The Baker physician runs a
clinic where he treats addicts with
a medication called buprenorphine
to curb cravings. Hofmann said
many of his patients got hooked
on prescription painkillers after
surgery or injuries.
Hofmann described the recent
metamorphosis of one of his
patients. The young father was
spending every waking hour trying
to score drugs — first opioids and
then heroin, which is cheaper. He
lost a good job. He spent time in
jail. After starting a regimen of
buprenorphine, under the brand
name Suboxone, and undergoing
counseling, he has found himself
again.
“He’s got his kids back. In three
months, he’ll have a full-time job,”
Hofmann said. “From a provider’s
standpoint, it’s the most rewarding
thing I’ve ever done.”
Hofmann hopes other providers
can catch the vision and start
offering medically assisted ther-
apies (MAT), too. There simply
aren’t enough providers who offer
treatment. Many opioid addicts
can’t easily access treatment
without driving long distances. The
few providers who offer treatment
in Eastern Oregon are getting
outpaced by the epidemic.
The numbers are disheartening.
The Oregon Health Authority
reports that more Oregonians die
from prescription opioids than any
other drug, including alcohol, meth-
amphetamines, heroin and cocaine.
An average of three Oregonians
overdose on prescription painkillers
each week. Opioid abuse has tripled
since 2000 and someone overdoses
in the U.S. about every 20 minutes.
Oregon ranks highest in non-med-
ical use of prescription painkillers
in the country. In 2014, a quarter of
Oregonians received a prescription
for an opioid.
All that translates into a huge
need for doctors, physician’s assis-
tants and nurse practitioners to join
the effort by taking the required
training and applying for necessary
waivers.
Hofmann urged fellow providers
to attend upcoming forums on
non-cancer pain management in
Hermiston, Pendleton, Ontario
or La Grande. The seminars offer
free continuing medical education
credits, funded by the Eastern
Oregon Coordinated Care Organi-
zation and a state grant. Forums are
scheduled for Jan. 27 in Hermiston
at Good Shepherd Hospital, Feb. 24
in Pendleton at St. Anthony Medical
Center, April 28 in La Grande at
Grande Ronde Hospital and May
12 in Ontario at St. Alphonsus
Hospital. All run from 5-9 p.m.
Topics include talking to patients
about addiction, the neuroanatomy
and neurochemistry of addiction,
pain schools, nondrug treatment
options and the role of buprenor-
phine in treatment.
Other free forums, open to the
public, will explore acute versus
chronic pain, non-drug options
Cousins introduced as Happy Canyon Court
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
It’s a family affair for the 2017
Happy Canyon Court.
Cousins and Happy Canyon prin-
cesses Gabriella Lewis and Virginia
Conner were formally introduced at the
Pendleton Convention Center Saturday
morning.
Amidst the seemingly endless stream
of gifts and photo requests from family,
friends and well-wishers, Lewis and
Conner explained how their families
were uniquely intertwined with the
Round-Up and Happy Canyon.
Conner, 19, is an enrolled member of
the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation whose family has
participated in the Happy Canyon Night
Show for four generations.
Conner herself has participated in the
show, having played roles as the bride
and a member of the riding party as well
as doing work behind the scenes.
Additionally, several of her family
members have served as Happy Canyon
princesses in the past.
“I have big moccasins to fill,” she
said.
Gabriella Lewis, 18, is a member of
the Nez Perce, although she also has
Umatilla and Cayuse ancestry.
Like Conner, Lewis’ family has deep
roots in Happy Canyon in addition to
being original Round-Up campers in the
Indian Village.
Bobbie Conner, the director of the
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and the
princesses’ aunt, said Virginia and
Lewis’ familial bond goes back seven
said. “They hate having to take
the pills, but if they don’t take the
pills, they’re even worse off. That’s
where buprenorphine comes in
as the solution to help taper them
off and control their cravings and
maybe control the pain a little bit
until they get straightened out.”
The therapy isn’t without critics
who question the wisdom of
replacing one drug with another.
“That’s a legitimate criticism,
because in short, yeah we are,”
Hofmann said. “But at the same
time, we’re replacing an illegal drug
with a legal drug, a drug that’s hard
to abuse and a drug that lets them
feel healthy and normal and allows
them to get back in the workforce
and take care of their children. Even
if I can never get a patient off the
Suboxone, I’m okay with that.”
Recently, Oregon changed its
policy for prescribing opioids for
patients insured under the Oregon
Health Plan. Opioids are now
limited to 90 days following acute
injury, surgery or severe flare-up
of chronic pain, but more non-drug
services such as physical therapy
and acupuncture are covered.
for chronic pain and the role of
psychosocial support in chronic
pain management. These forums
are Jan. 26 in Hermiston, Feb. 23
in Pendleton, April 27 in La Grande
and May 11 in Ontario at the same
locations. All run 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Register online at www.eocco.
com or call Briona at 503-952-5010
or email her at briona.campbell@
modahealth.com.
Hofmann said that attitudes
about pain are changing.
“Fifteen or 20 years ago, they
told us we had to start taking care of
chronic non-cancer pain,” he said.
“Now, we know that these drugs
aren’t so good over the long-term.”
With increased prescribing,
deaths from unintentional opioid
overdoses increased dramatically.
Hofmann explained that with
long-term use, patients develop a
heightened sensitivity to pain called
hyperalgesia. Even if an injury has
healed, the brain still senses pain.
The hypersensitivity coupled with
withdrawal symptoms makes it
difficult to stop taking the pills.
“They’re damned if they do and
damned if they don’t,” Hofmann
Commissioners say EOTEC
roads need state funding
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Photo by Antonio Sierra
Happy Canyon princesses Gabriella Lewis, left, and Virginia Conner greet
attendees at a Happy Canyon event at the Pendleton Convention Center
Saturday.
generations, both being descendants of
Chief Joseph.
With Conner living in Pendleton and
Lewis in Spokane, the pair said they’re
using the opportunity to get to know
each other better.
They’ll certainly spend a lot of time
together while they travel to rodeos and
events across the northwest representing
Happy Canyon.
All of these commitments come on
top of their personal lives.
Conner is currently working at Dave’s
Chevron and the Pendleton Coffee Bean
& Bistro and expects to enroll at Blue
Mountain Community College before
transferring to a four-year school to
study business management.
Lewis is enrolled at Walla Walla
Community College with the expec-
tation of transferring to Boise State
University, where she wants to major in
graphic design.
Although the job of Happy Canyon
princess requires a lot of time and
effort, Happy Canyon president Corey
Neistadt gave them a frank, if tongue-
in-cheek, advice.
“Remember this is fun, damn it,” he
said.
PENDLETON
Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners decided
Monday to seek state
funding for more than $1
million to improve roads to
the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center.
Larry Givens, chairman
of the board, said he and
fellow
commissioners
Bill Elfering and George
Murdock all voted for
the action, which aims to
improve more than 2.1 miles
on East Airport and South
Ott roads, the route to access
to the site in Hermiston.
East Airport has 4,752
feet paved to a width of
approximately 22 feet,
according to the county, but
the road needs to be paved
to 24 feet wide with two feet
of shoulder on either side for
access to the center, along
with clearing vegetation to a
width of 30 feet. The county
estimated the cost for the
improvements at $380,000.
Paving about 2,900 feet
of Ott Road to the north of
East Airport Road would
cost about $324,00, and
paving 3,500 feet of Ott
Road to the south would run
to about $393,000. Those
stretches are gravel roads.
The total cost for the
improvements is just shy of
$1.1 million, and there is no
local funding available.
Givens said the county
board passed the order so
local state lawmakers could
advocate for the funds if the
Legislature, which convenes
in February, considers trans-
portation bills. How likely
any request is to receive
funding depends on how the
Legislature deals with the
state’s $1.7 billion budget
gap between resources and
providing services.
The county board also
voted for an order granting
up to $250,000 of property
tax relief for the surviving
spouses of fire service
personnel, police officers
and reserve officers who
died in the line of duty. And
the board voted to oppose
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s
proposal to cut $10 million
in funding to veterans
services in the upcoming
two-year state budget.
Givens also said the
board took care of some
housekeeping,
with
appointments to the budget
and other committees, and
approved an update to the
joint management agree-
ment between the county
and the cities of Umatilla
and Hermiston to allow
Umatilla to oversee land
use within the urban growth
boundary.
School district polls public on snow days decision
East Oregonian
With Pendleton public
schools forced to cancel
seven school days because
of snow and other inclement
weather, the school district
is surveying the public about
how they should make up for
lost time.
“Before you begin this
survey, I would remind you
that there are no simple solu-
tions. We have a responsi-
bility to meet minimal hours
of instruction for our children
as well a duty to offer every
student the entire course
curriculum,” superintendent
Andy Kovach wrote in a post
introducing the survey, which
is on the district’s website.
“To do this we need to find
additional instructional time
between now and the end
of the current end of school
(June 8th) or add additional
days to the year ... or both.”
The survey presents users
with several options to rank
in order of desirability.
• Do nothing and apply for
a waiver from the department
of education for being out of
compliance.
• Add five days to the end
of the school year for grades
K-11 and add three additional
days for seniors with the
current school year.
• Add 15 minutes to the
end of each day from Jan.
30 to the end of the school
year, increasing the work
day for all employees by 15
minutes per day. The teacher
work day is extended to eight
hours. Would require union
agreement.
• Extend Mondays for
students to go from 8:45 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Monday morning
teacher meeting/training time
is reduced by 15 minutes.
Would require union agree-
ment.
• Do away with late start
Mondays. Starting Jan. 30,
Mondays would be like any
other day of the week 8 a.m.
to 3 p.m. No teacher meeting/
training time. Would require
union agreement
• Add three to five days
during spring break as student
instructional days. Additional
required days would be added
to the end of the school year.
The survey also provides
space to write in a solution. It
closes on Wednesday.
Kovach wrote that his
recommendation to the
Pendleton School Board was
to extend the school year by
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five days for grades K-11 and
three days for seniors.
At a meeting Thursday
in Salem, the Oregon State
Board of Education will
consider making temporary
allowances for districts that
have been hit with a plethora
of snow days.
Regardless of the decision,
Kovach wrote, the district is
committed to retaining June
8 as the seniors’ graduation
date, even if it means students
finish their academics in the
days leading up to the cere-
mony or later.
Kovach warned that the
district isn’t out of the woods
and could see more snow
days before the winter ends.
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DIABETES LIVING WELL
Learn more about your diabetes, its effect on your mind
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6 weekly classes
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GSMC Conference Center 7
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HEART-TO-HEART
Join us for this FREE class about heart health. Bring your
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Feb. 15 • 11am-1pm
45 minute presentation, repeated
GS Conference Center 2
HEALTHY FRIDAYS
FREE health screenings & health coaching:
Blood pressure checks, weigh-ins, body
mass index, cholesterol and glucose.
First Friday of every month
8am-11am
GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept)
Information or to register
call (541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
www.gshealth.org