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

OCNJ Daily

David Hughes, president of Shore Medical Center, center, accepts the donation from David Beyel Jr., left, and Jason Dugan on behalf of the non-profit organization. (Photo courtesy of Shore Medical Center)

Shore Medical Center announced that it has received $20,000 from the 2023 Kyle Evans Memorial Golf Outing proceeds. The annual event focuses on preventing new opioid addictions, raising awareness, and helping people realize they are not fighting their addiction alone. The 2024 Kyle Evans Memorial Golf Outing will return to Harbor Pines Golf Club on Friday, April 26. David Beyel Jr. and Jason Dugan presented the $20,000 check to David Hughes, president of Shore Medical Center, on Tuesday, March 12. Beyel and Dugan 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 chose Shore as a recipient of funds to help with patient care and prevention of new addictions," Beyel said in a news release. "We also hope the attention generated by the golf outing helps remove the stigma of addiction, so people don't battle in silence and feel more comfortable to look for support from family and friends." OAR13 stands for Opioid Addiction 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 boys soccer team. In 2005, Evans led the Ocean City soccer team to an undefeated season -- the only one in Cape-Atlantic League history. Evans passed away on November 1, 2017, shortly after his 30th birthday. "Sadly, I think it would be difficult to find someone who hasn't had the opioid epidemic affect their lives in some way. And, we're realizing more and more, it often happens in silence," Beyel said on behalf of OAR13. "Kyle was among the top athletes in the country, was incredibly smart, and the most competitive guy you'd ever meet. Losing Kyle was another example of how this can affect anyone. We've lost far too many friends and classmates to something we feel doesn't get a powerful enough response and resources." To date, OAR13 has donated $60,000 to Shore Medical Center to help in the fight against opioid abuse. "With the generous donations to Shore from OAR13, we have made significant technological advances to improve the processes and procedures related to pain medication management," Hughes said. "We thank them for their support and all they do to help our community through the opioid crisis." These funds support initiatives implemented at Shore Medical Center, including:

Acquiring and implementing new AI software that monitors the use of controlled substances to prevent any diversions.

The purchase and installation of new cabinetry, storage system, and surveillance equipment to control medication use.

Updating inpatient and emergency department power plans to include evidence-based multimodal pain management strategies, allowing doctors to have a multimodal approach to pain management.

IV push diphenhydramine (Benadryl) restriction.

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.

Offering a pharmacy pain consult service, through which providers can contact a pharmacist to perform a comprehensive chart review and provide patient-specific pain management recommendations.

"We continuously work to improve the programs we have in place, in addition to implementing new opioid-related initiatives," said Shannon Burke, PharmD, assistant director of pharmacy for Shore Medical Center. "We are focusing on decreasing opioid use altogether by encouraging the use of multimodal pain management strategies, as well as using medications taken by mouth whenever possible. We have also begun using a next-generation software solution to proactively identify and prevent controlled substance diversion. All of the progress we have made would not have been possible without the generous donations from OAR13." For additional information, sponsorships and volunteer opportunities for the Spring 2024 golf outing, email [email protected].