Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola wins Statewide Champions of Service Award from Volunteer Florida

 

Staff and volunteers of the Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola receive the Champions of Service Award from Volunteer Florida CEO Josie Tamayo, 1-10-2024

Volunteer Florida's CEO made a stop in Escambia County at the Health and Hope Clinic yesterday to present this volunteer-run clinic the statewide "Champion of Service" award--recognizing the valuable work this clinic does in the area by providing medical, dental, and mental health services free of charge to area citizens that do not have insurance.  For 2023, the clinic provided more than 11,000 doctor visits and between that and the free medications the clinic also distributes--the total value of these services exceeded $6 Million dollars in value.  The clinic is staffed by more than 330 volunteer dentists, doctors, nurses, counselors and other healthcare and administrative professionals.  One of the most important aspects of the care provided at the Health and Hope Clinic is that the care is actually free of charge.  The Health and Hope Clinic does not file for medicade reimbursements, nor does it accept any payments from the patients served.  Medicade reimbursements filed by other medical providers cost county taxpayers more than $5 Million Yearly.  So the Health and Hope Clinic, by seeing so many patients and not seeking the medicade reimbursements--actually helps the people served and the county's taxpayers!

Thanks to the folks at WEAR ABC Pensacola for coming out to the event and for their coverage of the awards ceremony.

"We are glad to be here in Pensacola today to recognize your hard working volunteers and all the efforts this clinic is making to prevent overdoses with Narcan distribution as well as your work to prevent heart disease in the community" said CEO Tamayo as she presented the award.

It is always great to see hard work rewarded in such a positive way.

Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola the Recipient of a Great Amenity Courtesy of LeaP 22!

The Leadership Pensacola "LeaP" Class is a year long program sponsored by the Pensacola Chamber to give area businesses and individuals the opportunity to hone their leadership and teambuilding skills via collaborative efforts and projects that benefit the Pensacola community.  You can read all about LeaP here.

Normally 10-months in duration, The extended (Due to the Pandemic) COVID-19 Leadership Pensacola Class of 2020-2022 recently completed one of their two community service project(s) and opened it up for use yesterday.  

This particular project was the design and building of an outdoor gazebo at Pensacola's only full-time, full-service, 100% free to the end user medical and dental clinic for working citizens that do not have medical or dental insurance--the Health & Hope Clinic of Pensacola.  

Staffed by volunteer providers (dentists, doctors, nurses, counselors) the Health and Hope Clinic's mission inspired the LeaP class of 2022 to help in a meaningful way.  You can read all about the Health and Hope Clinic and their mission Here

On days when it is hot or raining, the Gazebo that was constructed by LeaP-- along with the associated brick walkway--will give patients an additional space to wait for their appointements or a ride from their appointments out of the direct sunlight or rain.  

It is strategically located between the Health & Hope Clinic and Ministry Village at Olive Church, another nonprofit entity that provides support services to citizens in need of items like food assistance and job training.

It was a great celebration yesterday of giving and helping the community.

Thanks to Leap22, the Pensacola Chamber, all the company sponsors, the individuals that did the work, and everyone else associated with making this project happen!

Another Sad Loss to Drugs in Escambia County, This one a Military War Veteran

Escambia County lost another soul to a drug overdose late last week--this one a combat veteran.

I heard the terribly sad news over the weekend from a friend that another illegal drug overdose in Escambia County had taken another life.  Apparently and sadly-after hearing from the District 1 Medical Examiner on multiple occasions recently about this same topic--this appears to be an all-too-familiar occurrence.

Every loss of a human life is a tragedy of immense proportions, every one of these individuals leaves behind friends, family, loved ones and most of all ---a host of unanswered questions and unimaginable grief. 

This particular individual was a military veteran who struggled with substance abuse since serving in combat in the middle east and being injured there.  He suffered, but he was working through the addiction; he was in programs to assist him in re-integrating back into work and away from the drugs and the criminal justice system.  

But the addiction was simply too strong, it appears.

Because sadly, after an acquaintance failed to hear from him for several days--worry began to mount.

No contact for several days via cellphone, no returned text messages.

So on Thursday of last week concerned friends entered his apartment with the assistance of the property manager.

And sadly, this individual was found dead of an apparent drug overdose.  It appears he had been dead for a number of days.

Was it fentanly mixed with Heroin?  Something else?  

No one knows-- and an investigation will have to determine exactly what it was that took his life.  

But this is an epidemic in our community, and this individual is yet another example of this.

When will we overcome our addictions to these illegal drugs in the United States of America and right here in Pensacola Florida?  

Or more importantly-- can we and will we?

(There are things everyday citizens can do to help curb the overdose increases we see locally.  If you know someone who struggles with addiction and who uses drugs, you can save them from an overdose if you have NARCAN.  Learn about NARCAN, how it can save lives, and how you can get NARCAN FREE right here in Pensacola, by visiting this website.)

How YOU Can Save a Life

How can you save a life from an overdose in Escambia County?
Find out below....

As I learned last week on my Coffee with the Commissioner livestream with First Judicial Circuit Chief Medical Examiner Deanna Oleske---we are experiencing a lot of preventable opiod deaths in our area.

Distrubingly, for the first time in recent memory, Alcohol has been overtaken by Fentanyl as the drug which takes the most lives via overdose throughout Florida. Statewide, drug overdoses were up 57% in the first 6 months of 2020 when compared to the same time period in 2019. 

In Escambia County-the figure is even more grim.  Our overdoses are up nearly 60% in that same timespan.  And according to the Medical Examiner we are experiencing more deaths than are normal, with 95% of the cases her office sees being deemed "preventable" by the medical examiners office. Another thing that the doctor pointed out to me during our chat is that methamphetamines locally are now being cut (laced) with Fentanyl in many instances--which leads to addiction and a surge in overdoses.  Also on our coffee meeting  was Escambia Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore, who echoed the doctor's concerns as he reported our EMS units had administered more than 300 doses of NARCAN in just the first three months of this year to help prevent overdoses in patients treated in the field.  300 in 3 months!

So what is NARCAN and what can the average citizen do to help this overdose epidemic?    

NARCAN refers to the drug Naloxone.  This drug can quickly and safely revive a patient who is suffering an opiod overdose.  It is a nasal spray that anyone can administer to someone who is overdosing.  It will rapidly bring them out of and reverse their condition, it will save lives.

Get NARCAN and have it with you.  Do it.  Keep it in a desk drawer at work, in your car's glove comparment, at your house.  Get some, learn how to use it, and have it where you can get to it if you need to get to it.

The Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola, the only area clinic that has NARCAN to distribute to the general public for free,  reported in their April/May 2021 newsletter that they have, over the last year, distributed more than 1000 doses of NARCAN locally.  And they have received reports of at least 45 doses of this NARCAN having been used in Escambia County to prevent opioid overdose deaths!

Their effort to distribute NARCAN was established via a $100,000 grant that Health and Hope Clinic received in late 2019 from the philanthropic organization IMPACT 100 of the Pensacola Bay Area.  This grant from this group paid for training, an awareness campaign, and for associated costs incurred by this clinic with taking on this new role in the community.  Before the Health and Hope Clinic became an authorized distribution point for NARCAN in Pensacola--the nearest location available to the general public to get NARCAN was 100 miles away in Walton County! 

So if you are ready, willing, and able to help save a life---call Pensacola's Health and Hope Clinic at 850-479-4456 and find out how to get your NARCAN kit so you can help save a life!

About IMPACT 100 of the Pensacola Bay Area

About the Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola.

IMPACT 100 Gives Pensacola a Huge Win in the Fight to Prevent Opioid Overdose Deaths

Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola receives $106,000.00 to start a free distribution of NARCAN program locally

IMPACT 100 is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the Pensacola area.  This organization consists of over 1,100 women from our community who each give $1,000.00 yearly to a fund that in turn donates this entire amount to multiple worthwhile nonprofits in the area. They give back 100% of their membership dues to charitable groups that benefit the community--this year that total is more than $1 Million Dollars.

IMPACT 100 groups are found throughout the nation and in Australia and Canada--however Pensacola's chapter is the largest in the world!  This year IMPACT 100 of the Pensacola Bay Area awarded 11 grants of $106,000.00 each to 11 very worthwhile recipients in our community.  NorthEscambia.com  did a nice succinct rundown of who won what in this article.

One 2019 recipient in particular will start a program to save lives locally, from day one of implementation of this grant, with the distribution of NARCAN to members of our community that request this lifesaving drug.  In addition to distribution of this NARCAN spray (which can be administered to someone who has overdosed on an opioid--and works even if the person is not breathing)-the award recipient, Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola, will also begin a marketing and awareness campaign about NARCAN and how it can save lives.  Currently-there are faith-based health clinics around the state that are distributing this lifesaving drug--however before this program got funded Sunday the closest location where a citizen could get NARCAN spray for free was three counties away in Walton County!

With this grant award, the Health and Hope Clinic will bring this program where it is desperately needed--the greater Pensacola area.

Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola receives $106,000.00 to start a free distribution of NARCAN program locally

Escambia County has joined a growing number of municipalities and counties nationwide in suing the companies that profited from these opioids that have taken so many lives.  The largest of these companies has already sought bankruptcy protection.

Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of citizens overdose yearly nationwide.  Many by accident.  In 2017 alone in our 2-county area----more than 500,000 legal prescriptions for opioids were filled! These medications can be highly addictive within weeks for some users and sometimes, unfortunately, this leads to tragic consequences right here in our community.

Because when someone overdoses on these drugs, the breathing stops and permanent brain damage and/or death can occur within 6-7 minutes.

But this NARCAN spray, if sprayed into the nostrils of someone who has passed out, can bring them back from the overdose and save them.

The IMPACT of this grant is it will save lives locally---and that is a great thing!

Thanks IMPACT 100 and congratulations to the Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola!