Orlando Health team tackling opioid addiction with compassion and science
The epidemic of opioid addiction has cost so many lives and careers and devastated families, and the methods to attack opioid use disorder have changed with the times.
Misty Moore is sober and improving daily, but her story is one that is repeated over and over again. Her addiction began after a car crash.
"I was in physical therapy for nine months and prescribed heavy opioids," Moore said.
That led her to more than two decades of opioid use disorder until she landed in Olando Health very sick.
"I had given up, she was my hope, and I couldn't have done it without them," Moore said.
Jaime Bridges is the coordinator of Orlando Health's Opioid Substance Abuse Disorder Team.
"Personally, it's important because I struggle with the same disease, opioid use disorder," Bridges said. " I was injured on several occasions, on the job, as a police officer, and I went to the doctor, had surgery, was given hydrocodone."
She said she was prescribed the substance by her doctor.
"I wanted to get back to work, and the doctor said, 'Take this, and you'll get back to work.' It just spiraled out of control," Bridges said.
For people dealing with opioid abuse, family support and counseling are enormously important, but effective medication is now a big part of treatment.
"We're using medications we know help people stop abusing opioids and get them into recovery using medication-assisted treatment," said Kris Smith, a pharmacist.
Medication-assisted treatment is becoming more and more accessible due to state and federal support.
"Whether they have insurance or the money to pay for it, these grants are allowing access to people that maybe didn't have access before," Smith said.
Bridges said she became a licensed counselor and offered people someone to talk to.
"As a police officer, I realized I needed someone to talk to, so I became that person. I became a licensed counselor," Bridges said.
The Substance Use Disorder Team treated 1,000 people last year alone.
"It was because of Jaime and Kris; they would cry with me, they would laugh with me, they gave me hope, and made me see that I had a future and that it was worth fighting for," Moore said.