FSU College of Medicine 2018 annual report 2018 Annual Report - FSU College of Medicine | Page 32

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MEDICAL EDUCATION QUALITY
CONFRONTING THE OPIOID CRISIS
The College of Medicine s Area Health Education Center
AHEC has taken a lead role in the Florida Alliance for
Healthy Communities Opioid Prevention and Education
initiative. Statewide funding is provided by the Florida
Department of Children and Families DCF .
Involving
AHECs across Florida, it was created to engage
medical and other health sciences students and academic faculty
in delivering new or enhanced community health services
to rural and urban medically underserved communities and
populations. The alliance and Florida AHEC Network will
harness resources toward reducing
deaths associated with opioid use and
AN ASSIST FROM THE TRANSITION CENTER
addiction.
The College of Medicine partners with Tallahassee
Currently, our team is responsible for all care provided
In
, there were ,
opioid-
Memorial HealthCare to help patients recently discharged to Kearney Center patients, said Steve Quintero, associate related deaths in Florida, according to
from the hospital from having a relapse. It could be as simple professor of family medicine and rural health, who serves as the National Institute on Drug Abuse
as ensuring they re able to pick up medication and adhere the Transition Center medical director.
to the physician s treatment plan. A social worker, in some
In addition to its role in treating the medically underserved,
cases, might be more important than a physician in helping the Transition Center serves as a teaching clinic for M.D.
uncover and resolve obstacles that can lead to setbacks and PA students, as well as for surgical and internal medicine
and
to hospital readmission.
residents.
Recently, the TMH Transition Center took on another
above the national average and a
uintero, medical director for the FSU School of
significant increase from the
in
deaths
.
The alliance seeks to provide health-profession training
opportunities in all
Florida counties and to medical residents and
Physician Assistant Practice, regularly serves as a preceptor health-professions students in a wide range of disciplines enhance
opportunity to care for patients with a high risk of for those students, while also providing referrals for FSU the states ability to deliver opioid abuse prevention and early
hospitalization SeniorHealth and soon, FSU PrimaryHealth . intervention raise community awareness, including the development
the Big Bend region s homeless population.
The Kearney Center, which provides
-hour comprehensive
I m uite proud of the many efforts made by our
emergency services for individuals experiencing or on the Transition Center team to aid the underserved in this
verge of homelessness, provided grant support to have the community,
Transition Center deliver medical care.
uintero said.
of outreach programs and create educational materials for health
professionals and community members.