Political Quotes

“I thank Congresswomen Clark and Ann Kuster and Congressman Frank Guinta for the good work that they have done in calling attention this evening to this crisis that now threatens to overwhelm rehabilitation centers across the country. What I want to specifically cite in my comments for the next few minutes is a very human story. Her name is Bethany, and she wrote to me on January 18 of this year. Dear Congressman Neal: I am writing to you regarding the heroin prescription pill crisis our State and Nation is currently entrenched in. I am a physician assistant who graduated from Wake Forest Baptist Medical School in their Physician Assistants program in 2003. I have worked in various outpatient clinics, as well as at Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and at the Cooley Dickinson emergency room operations in Northampton, Massachusetts. I have treated overdose patients, have been alongside physicians who have pronounced patients deceased from an overdose, as well as having referred patients to crisis support teams, outpatient treatment, and rehabs. After all of this, I never expected that I would become addicted to prescription painkillers after a series of surgeries and illness. I suffered in silence, alone in fear, shame, and guilt. I was a functioning professional who referred my addicted patients to various resources, but when I tried to reach out for help, I hit roadblocks.…”