ACTIVIST GROUP DISTRIBUTES PACKETS TO PHYSICIANS IN FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

Physicians in Carroll County will now have one more tool to help them
diagnose and recognize the signs and symptoms of drug abuse thanks to one
local organization. Members of the Heroin Action Coalition of Carroll
County sent close to 200 packets of materials to all physicians in Carroll
County last week to help fight substance abuse here. "We sent them to all
physicians, from geriatric to surgeons, because substance abuse impacts
everyone," said Leslie Hinebaugh, past president of the coalition and
mother of two children who have been addicted to drugs.

The packets were part of the PROUD program, which stands for Physicians
Reaching out to Understand Drugs. The packets contained material on the
signs and symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as treatment options,
an update of what is happening in the county and information on
prescription drugs that are being over-prescribed, Hinebaugh said.

Michael Gimbel, director of the Baltimore County Department of Health's
Bureau of Substance Abuse, developed the PROUD program as a quick way to
reach out to physicians who are often the first people to recognize a
health problem.

Gimbel started the PROUD program last year by mailing more than 5,000
packets to physicians in Baltimore County. He is working on a similar
program to inform nurses.

"Physicians play a critical role in identifying patients with substance
abuse problems and because they are usually very busy, this gives them a
quick way to know what to look for," Gimbel said.

Recent studies have shown that although heroin continues to be a problem in
Carroll County, a wider variety of substances are beginning to show up at
area hospitals.

Last year, there were eight known deaths from heroin in Carroll County, and
overdose reports from Carroll County General Hospital are beginning to show
more combinations of drugs, especially cocaine and heroin, said the Carroll
County Substance Abuse Prevention Committee in its monthly prevention bulletin.

"Drug abuse and addiction is still a huge problem in Carroll County,"
Hinebaugh said. "If this helps our physicians help their patients get the
help they need it's worth it."