District attorneys, TDA join forces to fight meth
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Posted June 27, 2006 |
By Jennifer Garvin Nashville, Tenn.—The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference and Tennessee Dental Association are partnering with 11 health care organizations in an effort to decrease the impact of methamphetamine on the state's health care providers.
The campaign, "Meth Destroys," is funded by a grant from the Tennessee Governor's office and is designed to decrease the number of meth-related ailments taxing Tennessee's emergency rooms each year. Tennessee's meth use reached critical heights in 2004 when state law authorities seized 1,574 labs—second only to Missouri—prompting Gov. Phil Bredesen to allocate nearly $7 million to attack the problem. Of that, $1.5 million was earmarked for a statewide education and public awareness campaign, including Destroys."
"Every day, dentists and physicians across Tennessee are seeing firsthand what effects meth has on patients," said David Horvat, executive director of the Tennessee Dental Association. "Meth abusers can require serious medical and dental attention. Those who are uninsured can incur significant costs for treatment, and hospitals many times have to absorb that cost when the health effects go beyond dental issues. These patients can drive up insurance premiums for everyone else. Partnering with the 'Meth Destroys' campaign gives us a chance to combat this trend through education."
The campaign states that trauma patients who are meth users "are more likely to have longer stays in the hospital and are more likely to incur medical bills $4,000 higher than the general population," citing The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Other partners in the campaign include the Tennessee Dental Hygienists Association, the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Several of the campaign materials, including posters and brochures, may be downloaded at the campaign Web site. For more information, visit www.MethFreeTN.org  . For more information about methamphetamine abuse, visit www.ada.org/goto/methmouth.
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