Introduction to the Topic
Content Warning: This page contains sensitive topics related to opioid and benzodiazepine misuse. We understand that these subjects can be distressing for some. If you or someone you know is struggling, we encourage you to seek help from a mental health professional or a crisis hotline. Remember, you are not alone, and there is support available.
Whether you're facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to, you can call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
You can also access the student resources available to you through your program.
Please take care of yourself while viewing, and know that it's okay to step away if you need to. Your well-being is important.
Meet the Speaker
Krystal Riccio earned a Bachelor of Science from UNLV, graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy from Roseman University, and completed a PGY-1 in the Veteran Affairs, Southern Nevada Healthcare System. She is a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist (BCACP) and is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES). Dr. Riccio has extensive experience in establishing pharmacist-led practice services within multiple healthcare systems, including over a decade of practice in primary care settings. She works as a Professor of Pharmacy Practice with Roseman University, College of Pharmacy, and a collaborative practice pharmacist with Behavioral Health Group, a federally certified Opioid Treatment Program (OTP), where she precepts students and provides clinical services to individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). Dr. Riccio is passionately involved in SUD treatment, education, and prevention; presents on SUD, harm reduction, and stigma at local and national meetings; and educates interprofessional healthcare workers and students to improve the health and wellness of their communities.
Presentation
Resources
Utah Naloxone
We are here to increase awareness about naloxone and to increase access to naloxone rescue kits to prevent opioid overdose death. We are available to provide family member/layperson training about overdose prevention, recognizing an overdose, and administering naloxone in the event of an overdose. We want you to have the ability to save a life. Give someone a second chance!
If you are personally taking or using opioids, we want those around you to have naloxone if you overdose. We also want you to have naloxone to save a life if you witness an overdose. We can get kits into your hands so lives can be saved.
We provide training and information to prescribers and community groups who want to learn about how to get these kits into the hands of their patients, families, and clients. Please let us know if we can help you do this.
Andy's
Andy's offers free focused medical services to individuals who use drugs with the belief that health and wellness are a right for all.
All of Andy's services are free of charge and include:
- Syringe exchange services using a needs based model
- Naloxone education and free kits
- Free testing for HIV/HEPC
- Wound care services including abscess and soft tissue infection care
- Information and referral to recovery support services if desired
- Sexual health and safer use supplies (including fentanyl test strips)
- Referrals and navigation to primary care and specialty medical care as needed
Stop the Opidemic
Stop the Opidemic is a website sponsored by the State of Utah to provide information on opioids and how to end our overdose crisis. This includes information and training about how to get and use Fentanyl test strips and Naloxone.
- What Are Opioids
- Opioids are highly addictive narcotic substances commonly prescribed to treat pain.
- Fentanyl Test Strips
- Can save lives by detecting the presence of fentanyl in different kinds of drugs and drug forms.
- Naloxone
- Naloxone (Narcan®) is a safe and legal drug that can reverse overdoses from heroin and prescription opioids.
- Information for Providers
- Utah providers can make a difference. Prescription opioids can lead to dependence, misuse, addiction, and overdose.
- Resources
- Education is power.
SAMSHA Treatment Locator
SAMHSA's confidential and anonymous resource for persons seeking treatment for mental and substance use disorders in United States and its territories.