{"id":9700,"date":"2013-11-22T12:31:36","date_gmt":"2013-11-22T17:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=9700"},"modified":"2013-11-22T12:31:36","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T17:31:36","slug":"d-a-collaboration-needed-to-end-heroin-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=9700","title":{"rendered":"D.A.: Collaboration needed to end heroin threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘We can’t arrest this problem away,’ he said<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>

Andy Rumford, a grieving father who founded Kacie’s Cause in memory of his daughter, urges an audience in New Garden Township not to ignore the warning signs of heroin abuse.<\/p><\/div>\n

The county\u2019s chief law-enforcement officer had positive and negative updates on the heroin epidemic that has infiltrated the area.<\/p>\n

Addressing a meeting of Kacie\u2019s Cause, an advocacy group founded by Andy Rumford, a Kennett Square father who lost his 23-year-old daughter to a heroin overdose earlier this year, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said the drug has become cheaper and more prevalent as Mexican suppliers are replacing cocaine with heroin to increase profits. \u201cThey can produce more addicts,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

But Hogan told an audience of about 50 at the New Garden Township building that progress in fighting the scourge has occurred. While deaths from overdoses continue to spike in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, Chester County has seen a decrease, he said.<\/p>\n

Hogan said it is generally understood among prosecutors that when a drug-user calls 9-1-1 to report an overdose, they will not be charged for possessing drugs or drug paraphernalia. However, drug users don\u2019t know that and may be reluctant to call for life-saving help, he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Chester<\/a>

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan addresses a meeting in New Garden Township hosted by Kacie’s Cause, an advocacy group committed to ending the scourge of heroin in the county.<\/p><\/div>\n

As a result, Hogan said he approached State Sen. Dominic Pileggi to request Good Samaritan legislation, similar to what many states already have, to provide limited immunity to those who summon help.\u00a0 He said that Pileggi was receptive, which means the law will likely happen within the next year. \u201cThat is a done deal when Sen. Pileggi is behind it,\u201d Hogan said.<\/p>\n

Hogan said many addicts get their start from opiates in home medicine cabinets, where a relative may have leftover Percocet or Vicodin from an injury or surgery. \u201cKids start there, get addicted, and move to heroin,\u201d Hogan said, stressing that it is important for residents to dispose of unused prescriptions.<\/p>\n

He said the twice-a-year collections hosted by area police departments are not enough, and he plans to install drop boxes in 10 county locations, including New Garden Township, so that people can safely dispose of drugs at any time.<\/p>\n

Hogan also encouraged parents to stay involved with their children and monitor their activities, their cell phones, and their computers. \u201cWe can\u2019t arrest this problem away,\u201d he said. He said a collaborative approach between citizens and law enforcement is needed.<\/p>\n

Bob Hodgkiss, whose 22-year EMT career included stints in Wilmington and Chester, said when he came to Chester County in 1991, heroin overdoses were rare. \u201cDon\u2019t kid yourself; it\u2019s not just a city drug,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s out here.\u201d\u00a0 He said the drug doesn\u2019t discriminate with users coming from \u201cthe big houses, little houses, trailers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hodgkiss said one tool that paramedics have been able to use successfully is Narcan, which he described as \u201cthe best medicine Du Pont ever made.\u201d He said the drug, which is sprayed in the nostrils, could reverse the effects of an overdose if administered in time.<\/p>\n

Dr. Marc D. Grobman, a Wilmington internist who specializes in treating opioid dependence, said one of the challenges of treating drug dependence is recognizing that it\u2019s a \u201cchronic illness that requires chronic treatment.\u201d He said there\u2019s \u201cno way of telling who will get addicted \u2026 our brains are wired differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luis Tovar, a member of the Kacie\u2019s Cause team who led the meeting, corrected himself when he said he was the father of a 22-year-old heroin addict. \u201cWe need to get away from that word,\u201d he said. \u201cIt prevents other people from realizing it\u2019s a disease.\u201d Tovar said Kacie\u2019s Cause is now running a weekly support group from 7 to 9 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Kennett Square for families who have been impacted by substance abuse and related behaviors.<\/p>\n

Rumford said that not a day goes by that he doesn\u2019t mourn the loss of his daughter, Kacie Erin Rumford, but that he gains some solace from the knowledge that she wanted to help others. Kacie\u2019s Cause began as a way to honor her wish, he said. \u201cThis drug simply won\u2019t vanish,\u201d he said, urging people to distribute brochures and become allies in the fight to end the scourge. Kacie\u2019s Cause chapters have been organized in Oxford, Parkesburg and Honey Brook, and he said he hoped to see one form in New Garden as well. For more information on Rumford\u2019s crusade to prevent others from experiencing his tragedy, visit\u00a0www.kaciescause.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘We can’t arrest this problem away,’ he said By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times The county\u2019s chief law-enforcement officer had positive and negative updates on the heroin epidemic that has infiltrated the area. Addressing a meeting of Kacie\u2019s Cause, an advocacy group founded by Andy Rumford, a Kennett Square father who lost his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[2265,3584,1247,3583,2264,2877,16,3463,686],"class_list":["post-9700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-andy-rumford","tag-bob-hodgkiss","tag-chester-county-district-attorney-tom-hogan","tag-dr-marc-d-grobman","tag-kacie-erin-rumford","tag-kacies-cause","tag-kennett-square","tag-luis-tovar","tag-new-garden-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}