Monday, August 19, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
WISDOM FROM THE PSALMS
August 16
Psalms 103:17But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children.
Some people can't understand how the raging, harsh God of the Old
Testament can be the same God of love in the New Testament. Has God
really changed? Of course not. God is the same in all times and in all
places. What has changed is men and women's views of God. It is
difficult to make sense of all that God does, and we all must do our
best to understand Him. From the beginning of time until this day, God
is the same. The righteousness He held forth for the children of Israel
is the same righteousness He holds forth for us today. In a world where
all else changes so quickly, we can find great security in knowing that
our Lord never changes.
Prayer: Be the anchor in my life, O Lord, so that I
might not be tossed around by all the winds of change in my world. Make
my faith constant; remaining true to You. Amen.
'That 70s Show' actress Lisa Robin Kelly dies
The actress, 43, died in a rehab facility of unknown causes.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Wisdom from the Psalms
August 15
Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Deanna built a career on her looks. She had been the dream girl of
Hollywood and had loved living the fast life. Now, her looks were fading
and Deanna had nothing to fall back on. She had believed her charmed
life would never end, but the hard reality was that she no longer could
bank on her beauty.
We are given each day as a gift. Once a day is gone, it can never be
recaptured. Too often we live our lives as if they are going to go on
forever just as they are. Lives change, and we need to be ready to
change with them. God helps us to accept where we are and to grow to new
levels of maturity. Before this day passes and is gone, call upon the
Lord to help you make the most of it. Then, when the new day dawns, be
ready for the challenges it brings.
Prayer: Help me to live for what is important this
day, so that I might truly be ready for all the days to come. Your gifts
are so won derful, Lord. Please don't allow me to take them for
granted. Amen.
Excessive Alcohol Use Costs $223.5 Billion Annually, CDC Reports
“It is striking to see most of the costs of excessive drinking in states and D.C. are due to binge drinking, which is reported by about 18 percent of U.S. adults,” report author Dr. Robert Brewer, alcohol program lead at CDC, said in a statement.
CBS News reports the median state cost associated with excessive alcohol use was $2.9 billion; about $2 of every $5 was paid for by the government. Alcohol-related costs totaled almost $32 billion in California, compared with $420 million in North Dakota.
The authors concluded costs due to excessive drinking largely came from losses in workplace productivity, healthcare expenses and costs resulting from criminal justice expenses, motor vehicle crashes and property damage. The report found underage drinking accounted for $24.6 billion, or 11 percent, of the total excessive drinking costs.
The findings are published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
In 2012, the CDC released a report that found 38 million American adults are binge drinkers, and most of them are ages 18 to 34. Binge drinking is defined as men who have five or more drinks in one sitting, and women who have four or more drinks at one time.
The CDC recommends a number of strategies to reduce alcohol-related costs, including increasing alcohol taxes, limiting the number of alcohol retailers in certain areas and holding retailers liable for selling alcohol to obviously intoxicated people or minors who cause death or injury to others.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
WISDOM FROM THE PSALMS
August 14
Psalms 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
A woman asked God for forgiveness for a sin she had committed. He granted her pardon, but she had a tough time forgetting what she had done. She just couldn't let go of her guilt. In desperation she returned to God to ask His forgiveness once more. When she asked Him to remember what she had done, He said, "I can't remember what you're talking about. It never happened. Once sin is forgiven, it is dropped into the sea of forgetfulness, and it is no more. Go your way. No one condemns you; not even I."
It is not that God has a bad memory, but that His love is so complete and boundless that He will not retain the memory of something we ask to be forgiven for. He erases the sins from our slate, and we start fresh. As far as the east is from the west, that is how far God removes our sin from us.
Prayer: Though I don't deserve Your loving care and forgiveness, Lord, I conti nually thank You that You give it to me so freely. Help me to accept it graciously, and to know that You hold nothing against me once I ask Your pardon. Amen.
Own Your Own Copy of this Devotional <Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com>
Psalms 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
A woman asked God for forgiveness for a sin she had committed. He granted her pardon, but she had a tough time forgetting what she had done. She just couldn't let go of her guilt. In desperation she returned to God to ask His forgiveness once more. When she asked Him to remember what she had done, He said, "I can't remember what you're talking about. It never happened. Once sin is forgiven, it is dropped into the sea of forgetfulness, and it is no more. Go your way. No one condemns you; not even I."
It is not that God has a bad memory, but that His love is so complete and boundless that He will not retain the memory of something we ask to be forgiven for. He erases the sins from our slate, and we start fresh. As far as the east is from the west, that is how far God removes our sin from us.
Prayer: Though I don't deserve Your loving care and forgiveness, Lord, I conti nually thank You that You give it to me so freely. Help me to accept it graciously, and to know that You hold nothing against me once I ask Your pardon. Amen.
Own Your Own Copy of this Devotional <Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com>
Drug Company Has List of MDs Who May Recklessly Prescribe Painkillers: Newspaper
Purdue Pharma, which makes the opioid painkiller OxyContin, has compiled a database of about 1,800 doctors it suspects may have recklessly prescribed the drug to people addicted to it, as well as to drug dealers, the Los Angeles Times reports. The company has kept most of the list private.The company has maintained the list over the last decade, according to the newspaper. It has only alerted law enforcement officials or medical authorities about a small percentage of doctors on the list. Many of the doctors in the database have continued to write prescriptions for the drug, the article notes.
The list was discussed for the first time in public at a drug dependency conference in San Diego in June.
Robin Abrams, a Purdue attorney, said the database was created so the company’s sales representatives would steer clear of the doctors on the list. She argued policing doctors is not the company’s responsibility. “We don’t have the ability to take the prescription pad out of their hand,” she told the newspaper.
The company has told law enforcement officials or medical regulators about 154, or 8 percent, of the doctors in the database, Abrams said. She noted the company would alert authorities in some situations, such as cases in which their sales representatives witness apparent drug deals in doctors’ parking lots, or observe doctors who appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Mitchell Katz, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, says the company is obligated to report all the doctors in the database. “There is an ethical obligation,” he said. “Any drug company that has information about physicians potentially engaged in illegal prescribing or prescribing that is endangering people’s lives has a responsibility to report it.”
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Prosecutors Charging Drug Dealers in Heroin Overdose Deaths
Many people who were addicted to prescription painkillers switched to heroin after drug companies made their products more difficult to crush and snort. Heroin is also much less expensive than pills such as oxycodone.
According to the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of people who were past-year heroin users in 2011 (620,000) was higher than the number in 2007 (373,000).
“We’re going to be ruthless,” Prosecutor Joseph Coronato of Ocean County, New Jersey, told the AP. “We’re looking for long-term prison sentences.” He and other prosecutors in New Jersey are using the state’s “strict liability for drug death” statute. The law holds dealers and producers responsible for a user’s death, and comes with a 20-year maximum sentence.
Until recently, overdoses were treated by law enforcement officials as accidents, the article notes. Now, when law enforcement hears about an overdose, detectives are immediately dispatched to the scene. Paramedics are instructed to treat overdoses as crimes, and coroners are requested to order autopsies and preserve evidence. It can be difficult to prove a death was caused only by heroin if a person also used other opioids, drugs or alcohol.
Kerry Harvey, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Kentucky, has started prosecuting people who sold prescription opioids and heroin, under a federal law banning the distribution of illegal substances. The law allows for additional penalties if a death occurs.
Officials are also using cellphones to track text messages and calls related to drug purchases.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Gaudenzia Gala, Hershey, PA
The 8th Annual Gaudenzia Gala will honor Pete Wambach, former Pennsylvania State Representative and advocate drug and alcohol legislatio.
Live and Silent Auctions, Presentation of the Community Champion Award
Online Auction starting June 20
For more information, please contact Julie Girsch at 717-579-3636 or jgirsch@gaudenzia.org
| Date(s): | November 2, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Time(s): | 6:00 p.m. |
| Location: | Hershey Lodge & Convention Center 325 University Drive Hershey, PA 17033 |
Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Race Festival
Support the Gaudenzia Gladiator Dragon Boat Team and Gaudenzia's Eastern Region programs at the Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival.
Our team consisting of 25 friends, alumni, and staff members will race against other teams throughout the day. A total of 140 teams are participating in the event.
We are spreading awareness of Gaudenzia and of drug and alcohol awareness, treatment, and prevention.
You can support the Gladiators by making a donation in support of Gaudenzia's drug & alcohol treatment services and/or visit our tent on race day to cheer us on!
| Date(s): | October 5, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Time(s): | 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
| Location: | Boathouse Row Philadelphia, PA Our tent is located along Kelly Drive, Philadelphia, PA past the Race Finish Line at Shuttle Bus Stop #5, Tent # 137 and 138 |
16th Annual Race for Recovery, Erie, PA
Food | Door Prizes | T-Shirts for Registered Participants
3rd and final race of the 2013 Triple Crown Series by Erie Runner's Club
Team Registration and Participation is Encouraged and Welcomed:
erieraceforrecovery.com or contact
Levii Collins - (814) 459-4775 ext. 27 | Suzie Ross - (814) 459-4775 ext. 16
| Date(s): | September 29, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Time(s): | 9:00 am |
| Location: | Presque Isle State Park, Rotary Pavilion PA |
Fresh Start 10th Anniversary, Wilmington, DE
6:00 - Registration and Light Dinner
7:00 - Remarks
8:00 - Entertainment
Please click here to register
For questions or more information please contact: 302-738-0619 or freshstart@meetingsbydesign.net
| Date(s): | September 28, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Time(s): | 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. |
| Location: | Barclays 125 South West Street Wilmington, DE 19801 |
Baltimore Recovery Day and Fun Fair
For more information, please contact Andrew Keimig, Chesapeake Region Community Affairs Manager, at 410-367-5501 ext. 8206 or akeimig@gaudenzia.org.
| Date(s): | September 7, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Time(s): | 11:00 a.m - 3:00 p.m. |
| Location: | 4600 Block of Park Heights Avenue Baltimore, MD 21215 |
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Stephen Lloyd, MD,The Partnership at Drugfree.org
Dear Joseph
I am a doctor, and I am in recovery from prescription medicine abuse.
Some might be surprised to hear that, but the truth is that my profession did not make me immune to the painkiller addiction that started the way many others do — I abused medicine hoping it would help me cope with stress. I had some leftover pain medication after a dental procedure, and I took it in an effort to relax. At first, I thought I had found the perfect solution for my anxiety issues. I felt better.
Eventually, my family intervened, and I checked into a treatment center.
I
was skeptical about treatment, even though I was entering a center that
specifically treated doctors. We hadn't learned anything about medicine
addiction, abuse or treatment in medical school. I just didn't think
there was anyone who could help me.
It's important to talk to your doctor about the dangers of misusing and abusing the medicine he or she prescribes to you or your children. If your doctor hasn't yet brought this up with you, it may be time to bring it up yourself.
My
dream is that one day, all doctors will know more about addiction and
play a role in preventing medicine abuse. You can help by starting the
conversation.
Stephen Loyd, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Quillen College of Medicine and East Tennessee State University
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Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Conquering Grounds Music Fest September 14, 2013
On the Campus of Christian Life Center, 3100 Galloway Rd., Bensalem, PA 19020
Bring a Lawn Chair or Blanket
Rain or Shine Event
12 noon to 7 pm
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Ethical Issues Surround Rise in Doctors’ Use of Urine Drug Testing to Prevent Abuse
As a growing number of doctors use urine drug tests in an effort to detect prescription drug abuse in their patients, they face ethical questions about the tests, according to The New York Times.These questions include how accurate the tests are, what doctors should do with the results, and whether doctors are benefitting financially from the tests. This year, sales at diagnostic testing labs that offer urine drug tests are expected to reach $2 billion.
Urine tests indicate many pain patients are not taking their prescribed painkillers, or are taking substances not prescribed to them by a doctor. If patients are not taking a prescribed medication, it could mean they simply stopped using it, or it could mean they are selling it.
Dr. Roger Chou, who helped develop urine-screening guidelines for the American Pain Society, says that while he believes the tests are valuable, he is concerned doctors may use the results as an excuse to drop patients, instead of sending them to addiction treatment or other pain management programs.
There are two basic types of urine drug tests. A patient taking a qualitative test leaves a urine sample in a cup that is imbedded with strips designed to detect drugs such as opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and barbiturates. These tests have both high false-positive and false-negative rates, meaning they often indicate a drug is present when it is not, or they fail to detect a drug that is present in a person’s urine. The tests detect methadone but not oxycodone, the article notes.
Qualitative tests are being used in states that have passed laws requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug screening.
A more sophisticated and expensive urine drug test used in pain patients is called quantitative analysis. A patient can beat the test by taking their prescription medicine for a day or two, and selling the rest.
Friday, August 2, 2013
West Virginia County Creates Database to Track Children at Risk of Drug-Related Abuse
Law enforcement officers in one West Virginia county will start using a database this week to track children who may be at risk of drug-related abuse, according to the Associated Press.Starting today, law enforcement officers in Putnam County can enter any drug-related cases in which a child’s safety could be compromised. The Drug Endangered Child Tracking System will allow officers to report cases in which they are suspicious of child endangerment, but do not have proof, such as when they find a pacifier or empty car seat in a vehicle that has been transformed into a mobile meth lab.
Until now, officers have had no formal way to share suspicions of child endangerment directly with child welfare workers in drug cases, the AP reports. “We just didn’t input the data to make a black-and-white document, and in law enforcement, if it’s not on paper, it didn’t happen,” said Putnam County Sheriff, Steve Deweese.
Child-welfare workers will be able to log into the system to search for cases. “Law enforcement does a great job of identifying kids — if they’re there. But sometimes, you may not know there are children involved,” Sara Whitney, an investigator in the Putnam County prosecutor’s office, told the AP. “A lot of these kids come and go from relatives or neighbors, and it may be that when law enforcement interacts with the parents, they are somewhere else.”
West Virginia State Police hope the tracking system eventually will be used throughout the state, the article notes.
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