Rutland, MA – Over the past 10 years, the public response to the opioid crisis was mainly focused on restricting access to medicine to the sickest of the sick. Patients were no longer to be treated with opiate pain medication and offered ineffective, and often untested, alternative treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapies, Tai Chi, exercise and other self-management techniques.

Unfortunately, many people who truly need opiate pain medication have been greatly harmed from this approach.

“This is happening widespread, but it’s not being given the coverage that it deserves,” says Lauren Deluca. “For those suffering from pain from chronic illness, opioid based medications are the only treatment that provides them any semblance of relief and functionality.”

Deluca is the Executive Director and Founding President of the Chronic Illness Advocacy & Awareness Group (CIAAG), a national non-profit organization focused on the public-private partnerships influence on patient rights and access to medicines.

The best way to describe CIAAG is to explain how it came together.

In May 2017, Deluca went to the emergency room for an acute pancreatic attack.

“I was denied appropriate care” recalls Deluca. “However, the emergency room was exactly where I needed to be.”

“I created the organization by necessity,” says Deluca. “I was in medical emergency, and quickly I recognized that there was no organization that I could turn to for help, so I decided to become that organization.”

For more information, visit www.ciaag.net

Close Up Radio Spotlights Lauren Deluca of CIAAG

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