May 11, 2023
OPEN and Michigan Emergency Department Improvement Collaborative (MEDIC) are excited to have reached over 5,000 naloxone kits distributed to at-risk patients this spring. Through our Emergency Department Naloxone Distribution Program, we aim to provide patients most vulnerable to future overdose this life-saving overdose reversal medication to take home with them. “Naloxone is the most effective […]
Apr 24, 2023
One of OPEN’s most important initiatives is our opioid Prescribing Recommendations. Earlier this year, we developed recommendations for a new set of pediatric procedures. In 2022, we added recommendations for additional pediatric procedures and updated many of the existing recommendations for adult surgical procedures. How do we actually go about making these changes? How did […]
Mar 16, 2023
Our Spring newsletter is here! Featuring new featured programs, Spring 2023 Take Back Event information, our first open spotlight and more. Read our Spring 2023 newsletter here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.
Mar 2, 2023
In January 2023, OPEN hit a substantial milestone for downloads of our educational materials. OPEN has officially reached 5,000 downloads since 2020. Our educational materials are an important resource we provide to both patients and providers. “With these materials, everyone has the opportunity to learn about pain management. We’re their biggest advocate, so we are […]
Feb 6, 2023
OPEN has released a new set of Pediatric Prescribing Recommendations based on three years of data collection and analysis of prescribing patterns and patient reported outcomes. These recommendations add nearly 40 new procedures to our extensive list centered around pediatric surgeries. Work on this new set of recommendations began after Dr. Karen Cooper moved to […]
Jan 10, 2023
Dr. Karen Cooper started her residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (also known as Ear, Nose and Throat or ENT) 25 years ago, and one of the first surgeries she learned to perform was a tonsillectomy. When she began her career, the common practice was to prescribe large amounts of an opioid to manage the […]
Jan 6, 2023
Take Back Events are organized twice a year by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) where community members can turn in unused medications they still have in their households. While these Take Back Events predate OPEN, the OPEN team saw these events as a great way to partner with community leaders and raise awareness to the […]
Dec 14, 2022
Our Fall newsletter is here! Featuring Painless: The Opioid Musical, research presented at APHA, community engagement/achievement and more. Read our Fall 2022 newsletter here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.
Dec 13, 2022
On November 25, Painless: The Opioid Musical was featured on the Today Show, recognizing the importance of this musical and the impact it has already made on our community. The feature showed viewers highlights from its first high school performance and responses from high school students who watched it live. Painless started as an idea […]
Dec 6, 2022
In the CDC’s November 4th publication of the 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, OPEN was cited throughout the article. The CDC referenced OPEN’s recommendations for the number of opioid pills to consider prescribing for patients undergoing surgical procedures, the use of non-opioid medications for acute pain, and prescribing recommendations after dental […]
Nov 29, 2022
OPEN team members Heidi Aslesen and Zahra Dawson attended the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting in Boston from November 6th through November 9th to present research on the intersection of pediatric opioid prescribing, BMI and the impact on children. The APHA Annual Meeting is a yearly public health conference that celebrates the vast […]
Nov 16, 2022
Painless: The Opioid Musical is officially available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music! The OPEN team is excited for this impactful project to be available to share with a widespread audience. Bravo and congratulations to every person involved in creating these stories and getting them ready to share with the public! Listen […]
