Shore Medical Center Receives $20,000 Donation to Fight Opioid Epidemic

Shore Medical Center announced that it has been designated a recipient of $20,000 from the proceeds of the 2022 Kyle Evans Memorial Golf Outing. This event focuses on preventing new opioid addictions, raising awareness, and helping people realize they are not fighting their addiction alone. This outing was held at Harbor Pines Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township on June 13, 2022. The 2023 Kyle Evans Memorial Golf Outing will return to Harbor Pines on Friday, May 5. The $20,000 check was presented to David Hughes, chief development officer and Chief Financial Officer of Shore Medical Center by David Beyel, Jr. and Jason Dugan Feb. 28. Beyel and Dugan, along with Nick Canderan and Ryan Scully are members of OAR13, a nonprofit organization focused on attacking the opioid epidemic at its source and supporting new treatment methods in the community. “We are extremely thankful to OAR13 for their generous support, and we are proud to join them in the fight against the opioid epidemic in our community,” Hughes said. “We have taken several measures to attack the problem at its core, including instituting new evidenced-based programs for pain management,” said Mathew Piskun, administrative director of Pharmacy for Shore Medical Center. He continued, “We’ve also changed the metric that we look at for opioid use. We are now focusing on giving patients the minimum amount of doses required for pain management, and the length of time patients receive opioids for pain relief.” To date, OAR13 has donated $40,000 to Shore Medical Center to help in the fight against opioid abuse. These funds support new initiatives and programs implemented at Shore Medical Center, including:

• Inpatient and Emergency Department Powerplans. These updated plans include evidence-based multimodal pain management strategies.

• IV push diphenhydramine (Benadryl) restriction.
  • Implemented to deter drug-seeking behavior due to the euphoric effects of administering diphenhydramine quickly.
  • Administration of IV diphenhydramine is still permitted as an IV piggyback of more than 30-60 minutes for patients who require this medication for the itching often experienced after receiving high doses of IV opioids.

• Naloxone Discharge Kits: Shore is providing Naloxone Discharge Kits to patients who present to Shore Medical Center after an opioid overdose or who display signs/symptoms of opioid and/or IV drug abuse. A Naloxone Discharge Kit Contains: one dose of nasal naloxone, information on how to use nasal naloxone for patients and caregivers, a JTAC Alcohol and Drug Treatment Resource Guide, and New Jersey Syringe Access Program Information

Shore is also piloting a Pharmacy Pain Consult Service as a pharmacy resident research project. Providers can contact a pharmacist to perform a comprehensive chart review and provide patient-specific pain management recommendations. OAR13 stands for Opioid Addiction and Recovery, with the 13 in honor of their friend Kyle Evans, who wore No. 13 as a star player on the Ocean City High School soccer team. In 2005, Kyle led the Ocean City High School boys soccer team to an undefeated season – the only one in Cape-Atlantic League history. Kyle passed away on Nov. 1, 2017, shortly after his 30th birthday. For additional information, sponsorships and volunteer opportunities for the Spring 2023 outing, email [email protected].