RCHD utilizing grant to educate about opioids and fentanyl

RILEY COUNTY (KSNT)-The Riley County Health Department’s Community Health Educator Asia Sampson joined the 27 News Morning Show to speak about the work going on in Riley County to educate the community about the dangers of opioids.

“It takes about two grains of salt’s worth to potentially be a lethal dose,” Sampson said when speaking about fentanyl.

The KDHE was given $3.1 million in funding for an agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the Overdose Data to Action (OD2A). These funds are meant to help address the issues going on nationally with the opioid crisis, however, some organizations in Kansas took the opportunity to then apply for some of the money to support local efforts.

“In conjunction with Pottawatomie County and Geary County, I’ve been able to go into schools and educate youth within the community,” she said.

Sampson has gone to different high schools in Junction City, Manhattan, Wamego and other places in Riley County.

“I go into these high schools and I talk to the youth about the history of the opioid epidemic, how important it is to dispose of your medication properly, and making sure that you store those medications properly.”

These are things that people typically don’t think about too often, so Sampson says its all the more important to get out and educate while they can.

As well as doing those high school presentations, the Health Department has had multiple successful viewings of the documentary, The First Day: A Focus on the Beginning. It gives a look into the life of Chris Herren, an NBA player who is in recovery. The Riley County Health Department reported they were able to reach 123 people with that documentary.

“It’s definitely very impactful,” Sampson added.

She also explained that the Health Department has been trying to get community officials involved in outreach and education.

“With this task force we are going to try and raise prevention efforts in our community to try and help stop the issue upstream as opposed to downstream,” she said.

As far as advice goes for parents, Sampson encourages those caregivers to have open communication with their kids about hard topics like substance abuse. She said it’s important to let your children know exactly what your expectations are for your household.

“I definitely recommend talking to your children about this more than one time,” Sampson said.

To learn more about the efforts of the Riley County Health Department, click here.