Firm sponsors driver to combat opioid epidemic
Seeking to raise awareness, funds
QUEENSBURY, N.Y. » J.J. Yeley will be racing for a lot more than the checkered flag this Sunday in the nationally-televised STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
The NASCAR driver’s No. 55 Chevy Camaro is specially-designed to raise awareness and money to combat opioid addiction, and features a phone number for people to use to make text donations.
The car is sponsored by Gansevoort-based Adirondack Tree Surgeons and also features the name of company owners Phil and Judy Viger’s daughter, the late Angela Mary Dean, who passed away Jan. 3 following a lengthy struggle with addiction.
“We’re hoping J.J. finishes in the top 10,” said Angela’s brother, Bob Dean, a Queensbury High School teacher and coach. “That would
maximize television exposure.”
The Vigers are long-time NASCAR fans who follow the circuit from coast to coast and know many of the sport’s top drivers.
Sunday’s 2 p.m. race may be viewed on the Fox Sports 1 network.
An Angela Mary Dean Memorial Fund has been set up at Glens Falls and Saratoga National Bank & Trust companies, with a goal of creating a long-term treatment center in Glens Falls. Donations may be made by texting the word “Give” to (518) 412-4103, or at the GoFundMe page: gf.me/u/ hcsn93.
Bob Dean says long-term treatment is the most critical need, and effective way, to help people struggling with addiction. Sometimes, overdose victims are given emergency treatment and then released, which doesn’t solve the problem, he said.
Drug-related tragedy has struck his family twice, as Bob’s brother, Shawn, 30, succumbed to a heroin overdose two years ago.
However, establishing a center would not only require facilities, but attracting and hiring speciallytrained people to staff it.
“It’s going to take a lot, but we want to help,” Dean said. “We’re making progress, it’s very gradual. We just can’t take our foot off the gas.”
Recently, he discussed the possibility of long-term treatment with Glens Falls Hospital officials.
Last summer, the hospital was awarded a $20 million state grant to help fund a proposed new Medical Village at the main hospital campus. Among other things, the facility would offer special ambulatory detoxification services to help people during a substance crisis by providing treatment, prevention and connections to communitybased resources.
This isn’t quite the same as long-term care, but Dean said he’s hopeful some money will be put to such use when the Medical Village, still in the planning phase, is built.
Spokesperson Katelyn Cinzio said the hospital “looks forward to working with Mr. Dean and his family to develop the most effective and appropriate services for our region.”
Last month, about 2,000 people turned out for an Opioids Awareness Walk that Dean organized in downtown Glens Falls.
“Everyone says take a break, but I can’t,” he said. “This is the biggest battle for this generation.”
The U.S. Center for Disease Control has reported a 30 percent increase in opioid overdoses in a recent 14-month period.
Locally and nationally, the epidemic is being addressed in a number of ways, large and small, and on several fronts from legislation to law enforcement.
Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church recently gave Saratoga Hospital a $25,000 grant for its substance abuse program. Money will provide services and new clinical space for a rapidly growing number of patients.
Also, Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office announced recently that it has become New York State-certified Opioid Overdose Prevention Program. Specially-trained deputies on all shifts have been issued Narcan, a lifesaving nasal spray that counteracts opioids overdose.
Deputies are available to train residents in the proper use of Narcan and are able to dispense it directly to atrisk persons and their loved ones.
Meanwhile, state and federal lawmakers are taking a variety steps to combat opioids with new legislation and initiatives.
President Trump on Monday unveiled a broad, sweeping plan that calls for harsh new penalties including the death penalty for traffickers, reducing over-prescription of drugs, cutting off supplies, and expanding treatment opportunities.
The $1.3 trillion federal budget bill Trump and Congressional leaders agreed to Wednesday includes a $3.3 billion increase over last year’s funding levels to combat the opioids and mental health crises.
“The federal government must continue to invest in new and innovative ways to combat heroin and opioid use and tackle this challenge head-on,” said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, DN.Y.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, has co-sponsored federal legislation, the Community Action Opioid Response Act, which would establish a competitive grant program to help local agencies confront problems at the community level.
“The heroin and opioid epidemic is devastating families across our district,” she said.
At the state level, Dean supports passage of three separate drug-related legislative initiatives.
One would impose a twocent fee on pharmaceutical companies for every milligram of active opioid produced. This would raise an estimated $127 million in the first year alone, which could be used for drug treatment, he said.
Two other bills are under consideration. They are:
• A.8830 and S.7384, which would provide a tax credit to firms that employ persons recovering from addiction, with the provision they’re getting help from an Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services approved rehabilitation center. This business incentive proposal, sponsored by state Sen. Betty Little, R-Glens Falls, is designed to help people re-enter the workforce.
• A.5082, which would provide treatment-on-demand.
“If you go to a hospital they should have to treat you, no questions asked,” Dean said. “Every hospital will have to provide this.”
On Thursday, the state Senate passed “Laree’s Law,” which would make it possible to charge drug dealers with homicide if death results from the sale of heroin or an opiate- controlled substance. At present, person who sell drugs resulting in a user’s death may only be charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance.
The bill has been sent to the Assembly.
State Sen. Kathleen Marchione, R-Halfmoon, recently organized a Senate Heroin Task Force Hearing at Columbia-Greene Community College, near Hudson .
“One of the many positive outcomes was hearing compelling testimony and additional good ideas for legislative solutions to address the serious threat of heroin and opioid abuse,” she said. “Our hearing was part of a continued, community-wide conversation that we need to have about the dangers of heroin and opioid addiction and the ongoing need for real solutions to meet these challenges and protect New Yorkers.”
The state Senate’s budget proposal would increase the state’s support for opioid use disorder-related services to a record of $265 million, she said.
“Our plan also would reduce exposure to opioids for children and adults; limit and provide alternatives to opioid use; better define controlled substances to include deadly drugs like fentanyl; screen expectant mothers to prevent and treat addiction in infants; better ensure a successful recovery for those struggling with addiction, and provide law enforcement with new tools to get drugs and dealers off the streets.”
On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced three new efforts to counter the opioids epidemic.
Expanding New York’s Prescription Monitoring Program to partner states gives physicians a more complete history of their patients’ controlled substance histories. Another step calls for training Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement investigators to carry and administer Narcan.
A third provision expands the detox services hospitals are permitted to provide.
“By removing unnecessary roadblocks to proper care and providing more resources and training with these additional measures, New York will continue to lead the nation in implementing innovative and effective solutions to save lives, prevent overdoses, and provide the treatment those suffering from addiction so desperately need,” Cuomo said.