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Prevention Action Alliance
Prevention in the Time of COVID-19
With COVID-19 continuing to tear through our communities, it has become
increasingly evident that our healthcare system is severely unequipped
to support the needs that arise during a health crisis such as this.
Hospital bed availability is low and access to protective equipment for
those on the front lines are lacking. People are losing their jobs and
with them their access to health insurance.
When this is all over and we return to some level of normalcy, it’s
imperative that we revamp our healthcare system with an improved focus
on the power and efficacy of prevention. The closing of our schools,
food establishments, and common spaces while painful have allowed our
state and nation to flatten the pandemic curve. “Flatten the curve” has
become a household saying and social distancing has become a badge of
pride. Though these methods do not directly apply to substance misuse
prevention, it does fall under the umbrella of prevention. Our
healthcare system will never be the same, and it is imperative that we
make sure that prevention is a large part of the new system that arises.
This pandemic will be accompanied with worsening mental health issues.
Already, March saw twice as many texts to the Ohio Department of Mental
Health and Addiction Services Crisis Text Line, and stay-at-home orders
weren’t in effect until March 23rd. As people experience further stress
and isolation, those texts and other efforts to seek help will only
increase. It’s vital that there be someone on the other end of those
calls and texts for help. It’s also vital that we get ahead of those
calls for help and start to prevent the isolation, anxiety, and stress
from worsening.
We have to ensure that leaders of all stripes—local mayors, county
commissioners, judges, legislators, pastors, priests, doctors,
dentists, government administrators, business owners, sheriffs, and so
on—have a robust understanding of the need for prevention. This week or
next, try to have a conversation with a leader in your community to
show them how important it is to make sure our mental health safety
nets are up to par.
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