October 2016…
Letty, Jeff, Christina, Kevin and Tom rode 325 miles from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. to raise funds for the FED UP! Coalition, in honor of their dearly loved son/nephew, Tyler Grove.
Considering they are all 58 and older, this was certainly a challenge! They had trained endlessly and were successful in raising $4,210 at for the FED UP! Coalition. Wow! What a great way to honor Tyler! See https://www.gofundme.com/compassionride
The 2016 FED UP RALLY was a success! The 2016 FED UP! Rally and March to Capitol Hill was held on Sunday, September 18th, at 1:00 p.m. at the Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument grounds in Washington, D.C.. There was a sold-out reception at the National Press Club on the evening of September 17th and a Hill Day on Monday, September 19th. Thank you for your support! See our 2016 FED UP! Rally page for details.
Members of the FED UP! Coalition gathered in Atlanta at the National Rx Abuse and Heroin Summit, March 28-31st to promote the September 18th FED UP! Rally and the work of the Coalition. President Obama’s presence was evidence of the success we have had in bringing the opioid epidemic to the attention of the federal government.
Excellent news on March 15th. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its hotly-contested and groundbreaking new guidelines for physicians prescribing opioid painkillers. This is a huge victory over the special interest groups that have been profiting from the over-prescribing of these drugs.
Thank you to all FedUP! Supporters that shared their stories in support of the CDC Guidelines efforts to call for more cautious opioid prescribing.
If you were not aware of the opportunity, the CDC had planned to release a guideline calling for more cautious opioid prescribing. CDC’s plan to release this in January was effectively blocked by intense pressure from the opioid lobby, which sees more cautious opioid use as a financial threat.
CDC was pressured into opening a federal docket on its draft guideline. This is highly unusual and will tack months on to the process. Federal dockets are typically opened for public comment on proposed regulations – not on medical guidance issued by the CDC.
Your comments in support of CDC’s effort have created a chance for the CDC Guidelines to be released. Thank you again you have made a difference!
The Center for Disease Control just released data that shows Opioid overdose deaths have jumped to 18,893 and heroin deaths to 10,574 in 2014. The highest numbers in history. Click here to view the chart.
Thank you to all who signed our letter to President Obama asking him to provide leadership by speaking out about the opioid epidemic. SUCCESS! See this New York Times article describing the first time that the President has spoken to a live audience about this public health crisis.
FED UP! Coalition Chair Judy Rummler was recently interviewed about the FED UP! Rally
Click here to listen to the interview
American Free Press – 11/15/2015
On September 16, 2015 a letter from FED UP! Coalition partners was sent to the current chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee seeking public release of their findings. Click here to read more about the letter and how you can contact your Senators.
Fed Up! has received a lot of great coverage for sending this letter. Click here to read Med Page Today’s article.
August 31, 2015 was International Overdose Awareness day. Local FedUp! rallies took place throughout the United States and Canada. A special thanks to everyone who participated in their local city. Click here to read more about how some of the rallies went.