Addiction Archives

how the pandemic has worsened opioid addiction

October 5, 2020

Destiny Rozek, 22, of Holbrook, New York on Long Island has struggled with opioid addiction for the past four years, a struggle she said has worsened during America’s coronavirus pandemic.

a man wearing a hat: Photograph: Morgan Lee/AP

© Provided by The Guardian
Photograph: Morgan Lee/AP

Rozek explained that several detox facilities have closed and coronavirus safety protocols have limited the assistance several other facilities once provided. She went to a detox facility several weeks ago, but was discharged after a couple of nights because they needed space in the ward.

“There was no therapy or anything to help me. They didn’t even help me find an outside place to go to after and I was still sick when they let me out but they needed space because it was busy,” Rozek said.

Related: Bleak new record as 71,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year

Many addiction treatment centers around the US have shut down or

Some Health Workers Suffering From Addiction Steal Drugs Meant For Patients : NPR

October 5, 2020

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The federal government estimates one in 10 healthcare workers experience substance use disorder. There is rising concern that medical professionals are stealing powerful opioid pain medications meant for their patients.

Kaz Fantone/NPR

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Kaz Fantone/NPR

The federal government estimates one in 10 healthcare workers experience substance use disorder. There is rising concern that medical professionals are stealing powerful opioid pain medications meant for their patients.

Kaz Fantone/NPR

When Kristin Waite-Labott, a nurse in Wisconsin, began stealing fentanyl and morphine from her hospital’s medical supply cabinets, she found it was relatively easy to cover her tracks.

Her drug inventory paperwork often didn’t add up, but she found coworkers willing to cover for her.

“They trusted me” she said. “Unfortunately I was taking advantage of that trust and that happens all the time.”

But Waite-Labott’s addiction to fentanyl quickly spiraled out of control.

Doctors And Dentists Still Flooding U.S. With Opioid Prescriptions

“Taking it one time, I instantly

Crawford County Jail implements program for inmates to combat addiction, behavioral health issues | Local News

October 4, 2020

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GIRARD, Kan. — Inmates at the Crawford County Jail who are dealing with addiction and behavioral health problems can take a new path to recovery at no cost to them.

The new path is the Crawford County Jail Addiction Treatment Program, a collaboration between the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, a not-for-profit, federally qualified health center that provides care to everyone regardless of income or insurance status.

The Community Health Center has received a federal grant to provide medication-assisted treatment and counseling services. The pilot program uses medication for the care and treatment of individuals suffering with substance-abuse disorders as well as mental illness. It’s specifically designed to help individuals who are in and out of correctional facilities and who suffer from addiction and behavioral health issues.

Sheriff Danny Smith said this is the only program of its kind in the area that

Behavioral Health Group Enters Rhode Island with Acquisition of Addiction Treatment Center in Pawtucket

October 3, 2020

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DALLAS, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Responding to the continued public health crisis of opioid addiction in the US, Behavioral Health Group (BHG), the largest network of Joint Commission-accredited outpatient opioid treatment and recovery centers in the US, today announced their expansion into Rhode Island with the acquisition of the Center for Treatment & Recovery (CTR), LLC in Pawtucket, RI. The business, currently employing 23 clinicians, mental health professionals, and staff, will become known as BHG Pawtucket Treatment Center.

“Opioid addiction continues to ravage communities across the United States, exacerbated by the current coronavirus pandemic,” said Jay Higham, Chief Executive Officer of BHG. “Our Company’s mission is to expand access to evidence-based treatment in underserved markets across the United States. The joining of BHG Pawtucket Treatment Center into the BHG family is a significant value-add to our company and to the Pawtucket community.” With this

Stigma from providers interferes with treating addiction

October 2, 2020

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“It was dehumanizing,” Slade Skaggs told us about how health care providers treated him when he turned to them for help with his substance use disorder. “They made me feel like I was drug-seeking and that I was not deserving of their time or care.”

Fortunately, he finally got the help he needed and is now in recovery, serving as a peer-support specialist for others with substance use disorders.

Stigma — society’s negative attitudes and behaviors towards individuals because of their substance use disorders — propagated by people working in health care causes feelings of shame, limits access to care, and ultimately contributes to vicious cycles of addiction. This is particularly true for people living with opioid use disorder.

In the setting of Covid-19 and physical distancing, it is more important than ever to dismantle such stigma and develop effective continuums of care for vulnerable patients, including those with

Virtual fitness classes allow this community battling addiction to gain strength during lockdown

October 2, 2020

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The Covid-19 pandemic has been challenging for everyone — but for the nearly 21 million Americans battling addiction, it can be especially harmful.

Scott Strode sitting in front of a laptop computer: Scott Strode's nonprofit is helping people in recovery stay connected and supported during the pandemic.

© Provided by CNN
Scott Strode’s nonprofit is helping people in recovery stay connected and supported during the pandemic.

“For somebody in recovery, social isolation is a really slippery slope,” said Scott Strode, a 2012 CNN Hero. “It can often lead to the relapse.”

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Strode knows firsthand the reality of being in recovery. He was able to overcome his addiction to drugs and alcohol through sports and exercise. Encouraged by his success, in 2007 Strode started his non-profit, The Phoenix, to help others deal with their own addiction.

The organization has provided free athletic activities and a sober support community to more than 36,000 people across the United States.

When Covid-19 hit, the organization had to close its gyms and practice social distancing. But the

Virtual fitness classes allow this community battling addiction to gain strength during lockdown | Live Well

October 2, 2020

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Mattingly: There’s no silver lining or bright spots for many people over the last several months. Do you feel that whenever we get back to normal, this will end up almost being beneficial for the reach you were able to achieve?

Strode: I do. The idea that people can find recovery support through Phoenix now, really almost anytime, anywhere in the world is really exciting. It’ll just allow it to reach so many more people because of this virtual platform. I didn’t realize how much that was limiting our ability to get our programs to people who really needed it.

It just always lifts my heart to log into a Phoenix virtual class and meet somebody in recovery who’s doing the workout in their basement somewhere in Tennessee, where we don’t even have in-person programs, but they can come to the Phoenix anyway.

Mattingly: For somebody who’s isolated at home

Virtual fitness classes allow this community battling addiction to gain strength during lockdown | Health

October 2, 2020

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| Fitness

Mattingly: There’s no silver lining or bright spots for many people over the last several months. Do you feel that whenever we get back to normal, this will end up almost being beneficial for the reach you were able to achieve?

Strode: I do. The idea that people can find recovery support through Phoenix now, really almost anytime, anywhere in the world is really exciting. It’ll just allow it to reach so many more people because of this virtual platform. I didn’t realize how much that was limiting our ability to get our programs to people who really needed it.

It just always lifts my heart to log into a Phoenix virtual class and meet somebody in recovery who’s doing the workout in their basement somewhere in Tennessee, where we don’t even have in-person programs, but they can come to the Phoenix anyway.

Mattingly: For somebody who’s isolated at home

Trump’s attack on Hunter Biden underscores ‘harmful stigma’ of addiction

October 1, 2020

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Remarks like these perpetuate “a harmful stigma,” said Mark Sutton, spokesman for the nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for the decriminalization of drug use.

“At a time when we have approximately 70,000 people in the United States dying per year from accidental overdose, it is unconscionable that someone vying for our highest elected office would be so willing to throw people struggling with substance-use disorder under the bus,” he added.

Federal data shows that roughly 1 in 10 American adults — or 23 million people — have struggled with a drug-use disorder at some point in their lives. Such a diagnosis is “based on a list of symptoms including craving, withdrawal, lack of control, and negative effects on personal and professional responsibilities,” according to the National Institutes of Health. Drug abuse is not necessarily illicit — many people addicted to opioids obtain them legally through a doctor’s prescription, for

M Health Fairview Applauds PreferredOne as First in Minnesota to Cover Innovative Prescription Digital Therapeutics to Treat Addiction

September 30, 2020

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Largest Minnesota health system urging others to cover the FDA-authorized treatments

PreferredOne, Fairview’s health benefits management company, is the first health insurance provider in Minnesota to cover two innovative prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) to treat addiction: reSET® and reSET-O®, which are manufactured by Pear Therapeutics, Inc. The software-based treatments are authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are indicated to treat substance use disorder and opioid use disorder, respectively.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200930005985/en/

PreferredOne, Fairview’s health benefits management company, is the first health insurance provider in Minnesota to cover two FDA-approved prescription digital therapeutics to treat addiction. (Provided by Pear Therapeutics)

reSET and reSET-O are the first two PDTs to receive market authorization to treat disease from FDA. PDTs are apps that are downloaded to a patient’s mobile device after being prescribed. Both products, which are adjunctive to outpatient counselling,

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Tag: Addiction

how the pandemic has worsened opioid addiction

Some Health Workers Suffering From Addiction Steal Drugs Meant For Patients : NPR

Crawford County Jail implements program for inmates to combat addiction, behavioral health issues | Local News

Stigma from providers interferes with treating addiction

Virtual fitness classes allow this community battling addiction to gain strength during lockdown

Virtual fitness classes allow this community battling addiction to gain strength during lockdown | Live Well

Virtual fitness classes allow this community battling addiction to gain strength during lockdown | Health

Trump’s attack on Hunter Biden underscores ‘harmful stigma’ of addiction

M Health Fairview Applauds PreferredOne as First in Minnesota to Cover Innovative Prescription Digital Therapeutics to Treat Addiction