Features Addiction Confronting the opioid crisis The forestry sector is at high-risk of poisonings By Todd Humber SAVE ME O pioid-related poisonings are plaguing many parts of Canadian society, and workplaces aren’t immune from the issue. Data put together by the Institute for Work and Health shows that workers in the forestry, fishing, and trapping sector are at high risk. Only construction workers are experiencing a higher rate of opi-oid poisonings, according to the data. And forestry workers who are in the 45 to 65 age range account for 60.3 per cent of all over-doses in the sector, it said. With that in mind, Talent Canada and OHS Canada — sister media brands to Canadian Biomass — recently held an in-depth discussion on what to do if a worker overdoes on the job and how leaders can support their recovery long term. THE STORY OF DAVE Vicky Waldron, executive-director of the Construction Industry Rehabilitation Plan, is a fan of the acronym SAVE ME. It lays out, in a handy format, the steps that need to be taken in the case of a suspected opioid poisoning. SAVE ME is “stimulate, airway, ventilate, evaluate, muscular injection, evaluate (whether a second dose is required).” “The first thing you do is call 911, and then you begin the steps,” she said. That includes a sternum rub, to see if the person is awake. “You don’t want to go straight in with the injection because nal-oxone puts people into what we call precipitated withdrawal,” said Waldron. “It’s a temporary reversal of the overdose, and it puts them into withdrawal right away. It’s a harsh, fast, and quick withdrawal.” Candace Plattor, an addictions therapist with Love With Bound-aries, shared the story of “Dave” — one of her clients — as an example of how an opioid addiction can progress. Dave was in his 30s and was a site supervisor at a construction site in British Columbia. “He didn’t hurt himself on the job, he hurt himself playing foot-ball with friends,” she said. With a bad knee injury, he tried to con-tinue working — but it became almost impossible because of the level of pain. He went to the doctor, who prescribed him opioids to ease the discomfort, she said. The doctor also gave him a leave of absence to recover. At first, things were fine — he moved back home with his parents to save money while he focused on his recovery. “But opioids are addictive, and his body became addicted to them,” she said. “Even though he really wasn’t in increased pain, he went to his doctor and said, ‘My pain is worse and I need more drugs. I need a higher dosage.’” The doctor gave him additional medication, but soon scaled it back, she said. He wasn’t cut off completely, but he wanted more than what he was being given, she said. “Dave went to the downtown eastside of Vancouver and he start-ed buying the pills on Main and Hastings, but it got to be too expen-sive for him,” she said. “So, he went to heroin. He was even seeking out fentanyl because it could give him the hit that he wanted.” His entire personality changed, he had volatile mood swings, and he even became violent at times, said Plattor. And that all stemmed from a simple injury to his knee while playing a game of football with his friends. From size reduction to the perfect finished pellet, Schutte Hammermill has the system to meet your needs. From single units to complete turnkey systems, our custom configured hammer mills and pelleting equipment provide precision, energy efficiency and a superior finished product. Contact us today to find out how we can help you improve your process! [email protected] | 800.447.4634 www.hammermills.com Canadian BIOMASS CB_Schlutte_Spring24_CSA.indd 1 21 2024-03-12 10:55 AM
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