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A City On The Front Lines Of An Epidemic: The Opioid Crisis In Las Vegas, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Advanced Undergraduate Winner

While addiction to opioids kills more Americans every year, the purpose of this report is to assess the extent of the problem in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, and to propound ways in which local policy can help. A geospatial analysis of opioid demand nationally, regionally, and locally explains how the epidemic is diffusing, where divides exist in terms of access to treatment, and the differential effects of opioids driving this crisis. By tracking opioid-related prescriptions, hospital admissions, and deaths, the results show that opioid demand in the Las Vegas metro has decreased but remains well above …

Opioids In The Las Vegas Metro, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Health

In 2014, Nevada was one of 7 states selected to participate in a national policy coalition to reduce prescription drug abuse. As a result, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) created a data dashboard to track opioid prescriptions and opioid-involved overdose incidents. This Fact Sheet synthesizes state-level data from the Nevada Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard and focuses on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The data track opioid prescription rates as they correlate to opioid-involved overdose deaths, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations.

Opioids In Nevada, Peter Grema, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Health

This Fact Sheet presents data from the Washington Post’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) database on opioid shipments in the United States and provides information pertaining to Nevada and each of its 17 regions (16 counties and one independent city). This Fact Sheet compares the Washington Post’s opioid shipment data with opioid prescription rates relative to Nevada’s population in 2010.