About the Coalition

Siskiyou Opioid Safety Coalition

Preventing opioid overdoses, encouraging safe prescribing practices, engaging the community in collective action, and increasing access to naloxone and medication assisted treatment. The Siskiyou Opioid Safety Coalition (SOSC) originated as a subcommittee of the Siskiyou Healthcare Collaborative (SHC) in 2016, and was originally named “Siskiyou Against Rx. Addiction” (SARA).

Since that time SOSC is no longer a subcommittee of SHC, but is a part of the Siskiyou Healthcare Collaborative Strategic Action Plan, Goal 3: Reduce Opioid Overuse, Overdose and Deaths in Siskiyou County through Collective Action.

The following is an outline of the strategies implemented to achieve this goal.

1. Continue regular meetings and promote increased numbers of those involved in Siskiyou Opioid Safety Coalition efforts;

2. Support safe prescribing practices through provider education, policy adoption, and academic detailing program;

3. Expand access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) through provider and public education, increasing number of X-waivered providers practicing in Siskiyou County;

4. Expand naloxone access through training and distribution opportunities that include all first responders and the public;

5. Identify and secure additional funding resources to support training, operations and activities of SOSC;

6. Promote and participate in local, regional and statewide training opportunities;

7. Track impact of interventions through established data collection approaches;

8. Address the stigma surrounding addiction by educating the professional and lay community about substance use disorder as a chronic, relapsing, treatable disease through community meetings featuring those in recovery, presentations relating to the neuroscience of addiction, and messaging through print and social media campaigns;

9. Encourage and engage in youth prevention strategies as appropriate;

10. Support a decrease in supply of opioids by co-sponsoring Drug Take Back Events, installation of permanent drop-off bins, public and prescriber education regarding alternatives to opioids for pain management;

11. Provide a minimum of quarterly progress reports to the Siskiyou Healthcare Collaborative.

Coalition Members

The coalition has over 100 members acting as a team to carry out these strategies. Team members include individuals of various disciplines representing the following entities, plus additional members from the community: