May 24 Economy Working Toward Recovery: Ohio Town Fights Addiction With Focus On Economy This is the second story in an occasional series exploring the links between addiction recovery and a recovering economy. Addiction specialists, business leaders, law enforcement officials and other community members gathered around tables at Shawnee State University to talk about two big challenges in Scioto County, Ohio: a shrinking economy and a growing addiction crisis. […] By Aaron Payne May 24 Economy Working Toward Recovery: Ohio Town Fights Addiction With Focus On Economy Aaron Payne
May 23 Health Investigation Finds Ohio Valley Hit Hard By Fentanyl As Locals Asked For More Federal Help A Washington Post investigation finds the Ohio Valley is suffering the most from the surge in overdose deaths due to synthetic opioids, even as deaths from other substances are falling. The Post analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and found the region has the nation’s highest rates of death due to fentanyl. Kentucky, […] By Aaron Payne May 23 Health Investigation Finds Ohio Valley Hit Hard By Fentanyl As Locals Asked For More Federal Help Aaron Payne
May 17 Agriculture A Growing Recovery: Food Service And Farming Jobs Provide A Path Out Of Addiction This is the first story in an occasional series exploring the links between addiction recovery and a recovering economy. It’s lunch hour, and Cafe Appalachia is bustling. Located in South Charleston, West Virginia, the former church turned restaurant has a funky, yet calming vibe. Twinkle lights and mismatched dining room sets dot the space. For […] By Brittany Patterson and Liam Niemeyer May 17 Agriculture A Growing Recovery: Food Service And Farming Jobs Provide A Path Out Of Addiction Brittany Patterson and Liam Niemeyer
Apr 25 Health Drug Company Gilead Gives $11M To Halt Hep C Rise In Ohio Valley Drug maker Gilead Sciences will give $11.3 million to help prevent and treat hepatitis C in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. That money is part of a five-year project aimed at a region that’s been hit hard by the viral disease. About 43,000 people in Kentucky have hepatitis C, according to recent […] By Lisa Gillespie Apr 25 Health Drug Company Gilead Gives $11M To Halt Hep C Rise In Ohio Valley Lisa Gillespie
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
Mar 22 Health HHS Provides Additional Funding to Expand Addiction Treatment The Ohio Valley has received nearly $60 million in additional federal funds to help combat the opioid epidemic. Kentucky received $16,431,436, Ohio $29,122,692 and West Virginia $14,630,361. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the funds as a supplement to the first-year State Opioid Response, or SOR, grant awards. “This funding will […] By Aaron Payne Mar 22 Health HHS Provides Additional Funding to Expand Addiction Treatment 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
Nov 29 Health CDC Data Show Ohio Valley Still Has Nation’s Highest Overdose Death Rates New federal data show the Ohio Valley again led the nation in rates of fatal drug overdoses last year. The data confirm what local officials have reported: Synthetic opioids are fueling the increase. West Virginia had the nation’s highest rate of fatal drug overdoses in 2017 with 57.8 deaths per 100,000 people. Ohio had the […] By Aaron Payne Nov 29 Health CDC Data Show Ohio Valley Still Has Nation’s Highest Overdose Death Rates Aaron Payne
Oct 24 Health Ohio Valley Lawmakers Helped Shape Bipartisan Bill On Opioid Crisis A year after President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, he signed a bipartisan bill Wednesday to bolster law enforcement efforts and expand addiction treatment and resources. Proponents hope the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act helps the Ohio Valley, which suffers some of the nation’s highest rates of addiction and […] By Aaron Payne Oct 24 Health Ohio Valley Lawmakers Helped Shape Bipartisan Bill On Opioid Crisis Aaron Payne