Opioid Education and Resources

Quickly access the education you need to better manage and prevent the devastating consequences of this crisis.

Implementing Non-Pharmacologic Pain Management Alternatives in the Emergency Department Topic Brief
This topic brief provides emergency nurses with current information regarding nurse initiated, non-pharmacologic methods to address pain in the ED to reduce opioid use and overdose deaths. Learn more.

Naloxone Kits Available Here Poster
Stop an overdose and save a life poster with opioid overdose identifiers that can be displayed. Easily personalize this poster with the location of your facilities Naloxone Kits and how to request one via the fillable PDF fields. Learn more.

Opioid Safety Pamphlet
Opioid information on how to recognize and manage an overdose in an easily accessible and printer friendly pamphlet. Learn more.

Lend a Helping Hand Poster
Poster with actionable "H.A.N.D." steps and identifiers of an opioid overdose and what to do to help that can be displayed throughout the health care facility. Learn more.

This video segment was produced as part of ‘The Opioid Epidemic: Empowering Community Action’ a news and current affairs-style program designed to raise awareness of effective practices communities are using to stem and reverse the epidemic produced in collaboration by the AMA Alliance (AMAA) and ITN Productions.

The program aims to highlight the commitment of the government agencies, nonprofits, universities, and AMA Alliance community to work towards solutions on the most pressing issues in addressing solutions for patients enhancing comprehensive treatment and support for substance use disorders.

Advocacy

The Emergency Nurses Association is a leading voice in the push to improve emergency health care for patients struggling with opioid-use issues. Learn how by viewing the latest federal and state news below:

Emergency Nurses Association Praises Signing of SUPPORT Act

Oct 24, 2018, 14:10 PM by Tim Mucha

The Emergency Nurses Association, a leading voice in the push to improve emergency health care for patients struggling with opioid-use issues, on Oct. 24 commended Congress for passing and President Donald Trump for signing into law sweeping bipartisan legislation which aims to combat the opioid crisis.

Sweeping legislation includes provisions from ENA-backed bills to combat opioid epidemic

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (Oct. 24, 2018) – The Emergency Nurses Association, a leading voice in the push to improve emergency health care for patients struggling with opioid-use issues, on Oct. 24 commended Congress for passing and President Donald Trump for signing into law sweeping bipartisan legislation which aims to combat the opioid crisis.

The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act incorporates dozens of bills, including a pair supported by ENA, designed to provide immediate assistance to help quell the deadly impact of opioid drugs which claimed the lives of approximately 49,000 Americans in 2017.

"The opioid epidemic has strained an already overburdened emergency care system in the United States. This, coupled with the challenges of watching how addiction negatively impacts our patients and their loved ones, makes the opioid crisis very personal for emergency nurses,” ENA President Jeff Solheim, MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN, CFRN, FAEN, FAAN. “We applaud any legislation, such as ALTO, that will help control this very real problem."

The SUPPORT Act includes the ALTO ED Act and key provisions of the POWER Act, two ENA-backed bills the association strongly advocated for because of their impact on how emergency departments treat patients struggling with opioid-use:

- The ALTO ED Act – sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., in the House and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., in the Senate – requires the Department of Health and Human Services to run a demonstration program in which grants would be awarded to hospitals and EDs to develop, study and improve alternative pain management protocols with the goal of reducing unnecessary opioid use in the ED.

- The POWER Act – which was introduced by Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., in the House and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., in the Senate – authorizes federal funds to help health care facilities, including emergency departments, and key state agencies and local organizations develop protocols for discharging patients after a non-fatal overdose that improve coordination of community-based treatment for those patients.

ENA has been a long-time supporter of improving emergency care and resources for patients with substance use disorders, especially those impacted by the opioid epidemic. ENA engaged with congressional leaders throughout the development of the SUPPORT Act, voicing support for the inclusion of these important provisions in the final legislation. Additionally, 2018 ENA President-elect Patricia Kunz Howard represented ENA earlier this year in Washington, D.C., during a panel discussion about the importance of connecting patients who overdosed with community resources.

“Alternatives to opioids is vitally important to reduce the tragedies associated with opioid addiction. The Emergency Nurses Association supports alternative measures to manage pain without the use of opioids,” said 2018 ENA President-elect Patricia Kunz Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN.