Apr 17 Health Federal Opioid Strikeforce Indicts More Than A Dozen Ohio Valley Doctors The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday more than a dozen indictments against doctors in the Ohio Valley on charges relating to the illegal distribution of opioids. These are the first major indictments from the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, which started work in December. “The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis […] By Aaron Payne Apr 17 Health Federal Opioid Strikeforce Indicts More Than A Dozen Ohio Valley Doctors Aaron Payne
Feb 21 Economy New ARC Grants Combine Economic Recovery And Addiction Recovery The Appalachian Regional Commission announced Thursday another $22.8 million in funding to 33 projects aimed at revitalizing economies in places affected by the decline in the coal industry. The awards are the latest in the ARC’s POWER Initiative, an acronym for Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization. Congress has funded the initiative for […] By Jeff Young and Becca Schimmel Feb 21 Economy New ARC Grants Combine Economic Recovery And Addiction Recovery Jeff Young and Becca Schimmel
Feb 15 Health As Opioid Crisis Affects A New Generation, Experts Study Long-Term Effects Of Prenatal Exposure Sue Meeks has worked with children for years as a registered nurse. Meeks manages the family navigator program at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio. Several years ago, she started noticing three and four-year-olds coming into the program with certain distinctive behaviors. “Children that appear to be neurologically very overstimulated,” she […] By Aaron Payne Feb 15 Health As Opioid Crisis Affects A New Generation, Experts Study Long-Term Effects Of Prenatal Exposure Aaron Payne
Oct 12 Health The Doctor And The Epidemic: Three Years At Ground Zero Of The Opioid Crisis When Dr. Rahul Gupta started work as West Virginia’s chief health officer his state was already ground zero for the opioid epidemic, with some of the nation’s highest rates of addiction and overdose fatalities. That was 2015, and 735 state residents died from overdoses that year. Preliminary data for 2017 show there were 1,011 […] By Aaron Payne Oct 12 Health The Doctor And The Epidemic: Three Years At Ground Zero Of The Opioid Crisis Aaron Payne
Sep 20 Health Surgeon General Says Opioid Crisis Requires Fight Against Stigma In a comprehensive new report on the opioid crisis, the U.S. surgeon general writes that stigma remains a major barrier to treatment and urges a more supportive approach to those in need. Surgeon General Jerome Adams wrote in his Spotlight on Opioids report that stigma has prevented people with opioid use disorders from seeking treatment. […] By Aaron Payne Sep 20 Health Surgeon General Says Opioid Crisis Requires Fight Against Stigma Aaron Payne
Sep 18 Health Senate Opioids Bill Takes Aim At Fentanyl Imports The U.S. Senate has approved a bipartisan package to address the nation’s opioid crisis with more resources for addiction treatment and recovery and an emphasis on stopping the flow of the the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. The Senate approved the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 by a 99-1 vote Monday night including a version […] By Aaron Payne Sep 18 Health Senate Opioids Bill Takes Aim At Fentanyl Imports Aaron Payne
Sep 14 Health The New DARE: Schools Aim To Stop Next Generation Of Opioid Crisis New data from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show a rare bright spot amid the opioid crisis. Fewer high schoolers in the region appear to be using opioids. School officials in the Ohio Valley want to continue that trend with more school-based programs designed to help prevent substance use disorders. But […] By Aaron Payne Sep 14 Health The New DARE: Schools Aim To Stop Next Generation Of Opioid Crisis Aaron Payne
Aug 17 Health Rural Risk: Mobile Clinics Help Tackle Multifaceted Opioid Crisis In a room at the Letcher County Health Department in Whitesburg, Kentucky, about 20 people are learning how to use naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication. Among them is 18-year-old Morgan Hopkins. An aspiring therapist, Hopkins said she wants to be ready with naloxone if someone overdoses around her. “You never know what you’re going […] By Aaron Payne Aug 17 Health Rural Risk: Mobile Clinics Help Tackle Multifaceted Opioid Crisis Aaron Payne
Jul 27 Health Ohio Valley Overdose Deaths Continue Grim Rise As Data Reflect Fentanyl’s Role Health officials in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia say the number of overdose deaths related to the opioid crisis continued to rise in 2017 as state data began to reflect the fatalities related to the powerful drug fentanyl. A new report from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy found 1,565 died from drug overdoses […] By Aaron Payne Jul 27 Health Ohio Valley Overdose Deaths Continue Grim Rise As Data Reflect Fentanyl’s Role Aaron Payne
May 23 Agriculture Back To The Garden: How Green Thumbs Help With Addiction Recovery Meredith Jensen is doing some gardening on a sunny day in a secluded part of Athens, Ohio. “I’m working on our pollinator garden beds,” she said. “Which are a bunch of fun flowers that’ll help attract butterflies, bumble bees, you name it.” Her partner Jamie Betit pushes a full wheel barrow to fill the other […] By Aaron Payne May 23 Agriculture Back To The Garden: How Green Thumbs Help With Addiction Recovery Aaron Payne