By Olivia Matalon DENVILLE, N.J (NCC NEWS) — Workers at St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville, New Jersey support a proposal made to encourage doctors to work at treatment centers for opioid use disorder. The proposal would give doctors a $175 per hour tax credit to volunteer at rehabilitation centers. The maximum credit they could receive is $5,000 dollars. It also grants doctors immunity from civil lawsuits for personal injury or wrongful death.
The proposal was submitted two months ago by Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco. Bucco came up with this idea after talking with an executive director of a rehabilitation center.
“He told me they were having trouble finding doctors to come to the facility to help,” Bucco said. “It’s becoming more difficult for doctors to actually work in this area. The tax incentive program that I developed, we hope, will provide the incentive to doctors to take on these responsibilities.”
Bucco insists the need for action against the opioid crisis in New Jersey is necessary. The Attorney General’s office reported as of December 2nd this year, 2900 people died in New Jersey from opioid overdoses, an average of eight people per day.
After hearing Bucco’s proposal at a community meeting, Wendy Long, who works in the Senior Care Program at St. Clare’s, said it would help expose doctors to the continuing opioid crisis.
“I think it sounds like a great proposal,” Long said. “It will allow them to see first hand the impact of addiction.”
Long has been involved in helping people with addictions for many years. Her nephew has an opioid addiction, and many seniors she works with deal with drug and alcohol abuse.
“Believe it or not, there are many seniors that have drug and alcohol issues,” Long said. “It really can hit anybody, anywhere. My nephew has been battling addiction for years now. It’s something everyone really needs to be aware of.”
While Bucco said there is a lack of doctors working in rehabilitation centers, the ones that are are extremely passionate about helping people recover from addiction. Rebecca Light, the nurse manager of the adult psychiatric voluntary unit at St. Clare’s, was inspired to work at the unit by the younger generations.
“I think mental health is a very challenging area, particularly with substance abuse,” Light said. “I want to make the world a better place for my daughter to grow up in.”
Bucco wants more doctors and nurses like Light to feel the same inspiration to help those with drug addictions. Light said that no matter what solution is made to end the opioid crisis, she is driven to stop the rising mortality rate of drug abuse in New Jersey, at any cost.
“It inspires me to figure out what the best solution is, to fight harder, and recognize that there is an imminent danger for the people in the community,” Light said. “We need to be that much more aggressive in our ability to find resources.”
