The Steve Rummler Hope Foundation
Our Program on July 30th was a presentation by representatives of the Steven Rummler Hope Foundation. The opening speaker was Susan Rummler, mother of Steven, who told his life story. Steven died of an overdose in April of 2011. His family started the hope foundation to provide education and other resources to heighten the awareness of the dilemma of chronic pain and the connection with addiction, and to improve the associated care process.
People who have chronic pain are usually prescribed opioids to control the pan. Opioids are a very dangerous family of drugs, and are very addictive. Doctors prescribe the painkillers many times without considering the addictive characteristics, and don’t match the drug they use with the patient’s sensitivities. Dr. Charles Reznikoff spoke and highlighted the problems from the medical doctor’s perspective.
Some facts: over 16,000 people died in 2010 from prescription painkiller overdoses; enough painkillers were prescribed in the US in 2010 to medicate every American adult around the clock for a month; and incidents involving prescription painkillers were responsible for more than 425,000 emergency room visits in 2010.