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Tag: addiction medicine

  • Annual Salem Walk for Overdose Awareness emphasizes need for community support

    SALEM — A group of about 30 community members walked from the Salem Common to Riley Plaza on Thursday as a part of the annual Walk for Overdose Awareness.

    The event included speakers stressing the importance of creating a larger support network for community members struggling with substance abuse and addiction.


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    By Michael McHugh | Staff Writer

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  • Denver Health sharing patients’ stories to ease stigma of fentanyl use

    DENVER — Denver Health is sharing the stories of patients and support specialists to ease the stigma surrounding fentanyl use and, in turn, reduce overdose deaths.

    According to data from the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE), as of July 10, there have been 320 confirmed overdose deaths so far this year. Of those, 213 cases involved fentanyl.

    During the same period last year (Jan. 1 through July 10, 2024), there were 275 confirmed overdose deaths in Denver.

    Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE)

    “Really, the age range is everything from 9 years old to 90. That is not an exaggeration, we have patients at either end of the spectrum,” Sarah Christensen, medical director of outpatient substance use disorders at Denver Health, said about the patients she sees who have been impacted by fentanyl. “They’re a variety of backgrounds. No one is immune; no one is protected. Coming from a good family or having money doesn’t stop you from experiencing this.”

    Denver Health’s Center for Addiction Medicine helps people navigate recovery. Outside of the building are rows of small purple windmills, recognizing the lives lost to substance abuse.

    Denver Health's Center for Addiction Medicine windmills

    Denver7

    Christensen said the community, whether they’re impacted by substance use disorder or not, can help reduce overdose deaths through awareness and empathy. She recommends that people carry naloxone so they can intervene if they see someone experiencing an overdose.

    “I recommend to everybody to have that with you,” said Christensen. “Actually, I have it with me in my purse.”

    Naloxone, also known by the brand name NARCAN, is a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and can be given as a nasal spray or an injection. The medication is safe and easy to use, not only by trained professionals but also by bystanders.

    Nasal spray naloxone is available at pharmacies or through various vending machines and resource centers across Denver.

    “An overdose might mean that someone has taken so much that they are no longer conscious,” Chistensen said. “What we really worry about is when they stop breathing.”

    • Denver Health created a video demonstrating how to administer naloxone. You can watch it in the video player below

    If your loved one is experiencing substance use disorder, Christensen said the best way to approach the situation is with compassion.

    “Being able to say, ‘Whatever’s happening, I love you, I’m still going to love you, and I’m here when you’re ready and I would love for you to get help,’” she said.

    In an effort to reduce the stigma surrounding fentanyl use, Denver Health is highlighting the stories of people impacted by opioids and overdoses through an exhibit titled “Stories in Black and White.”

    According to Denver Health, “patients, peer support specialists, and advisory members for the Center for Addiction Medicine’s Community Advisory Meeting shared these stories in partnership with the CDC Foundation’s Overdose Response Strategy Program.”

    Denver Health "Stories in Black and White."

    Denver7

    “We hope these stories encourage more dialogue and less stigma about how people from all walks of life can get the support they need when they are ready,” Denver Health wrote.

    The exhibit will be at Civic Center Park near Broadway and 14th Avenue on Sept. 1 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. It will then be showcased at the Denver Central Public Library on Sept. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    You can learn more about the exhibit through this link.

    DANIELLE CALL TO ACTION.jpg

    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Danielle Kreutter

    Denver7’s Danielle Kreutter covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on affordable housing and issues surrounding the unhoused community. If you’d like to get in touch with Danielle, fill out the form below to send her an email.

    Danielle Kreutter

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  • Rockport school board updated on opioid prevention

    The Rockport School Committee, along with the town’s Public Health Department, is aiming to eliminate the effects of possible substance abuse in Rockport schools.

    During the committee’s meeting on June 4, members heard from Dr. Ray Cahill, director of the Rockport Public Health Department, who updated those gathered about the “RIZE Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership Grant.” The grant aims to support children and families affected by the opioid crisis.


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    By Stephen Hagan | Staff Writer

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  • Opioid deaths drop 10%, but remain high

    Opioid deaths drop 10%, but remain high

    BOSTON — The scourge of opioid addiction continues to affect Massachusetts, but new data shows a double-digit decrease in the number of overdose deaths in the past year.

    There were 2,125 confirmed or suspected opioid-related deaths in 2023 — which is 10%, or 232, fewer fatal overdoses than during the same period in 2022, according to a report released this week by the state Department of Public Health.

    Last year’s opioid-related overdose death rate also decreased by 10% to 30.2 per 100,000 people compared to 33.5 in 2022, DPH said.

    Health officials attributed the persistently high death rates to the effects of an “increasingly poisoned drug supply,” primarily with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

    Fentanyl was present in 90% of the overdose deaths where a toxicology report was available, state officials noted.

    Preliminary data from the first three months of 2024 showed a continued decline in opioid-related overdose deaths, the agency said, with 507 confirmed and estimated deaths, a 9% drop from the same time period last year.

    Gov. Maura Healey said she is “encouraged” by the drop in fatal overdoses but the state needs to continue to focus on “prevention, treatment and recovery efforts to address the overdose crisis that continues to claim too many lives and devastate too many families in Massachusetts.”

    Substance abuse counselors welcomed the declining number of fatal opioid overdoses, but said the data shows that there is still more work to be done to help people struggling with substance use disorders.

    “While the number of opioid-related overdose deaths in the commonwealth remains unacceptably high, it is encouraging to see what we hope is a reversal of a long and painful trend,” Bridgewell President & CEO Chris Tuttle said in a statement. “The time is now to boost public investments and once and for all overcome the scourge of the opioid epidemic.”

    Nationally, there were 107,543 overdose deaths reported in the U.S. in 2023, a 3% decrease from the estimated 111,029 in 2022, according to recently released U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

    In New Hampshire, drug overdose deaths also declined by double digits in 2023, according to figures released in May by the state’s medical examiner and the National Centers for Disease Control.

    There were 430 deaths attributed to overdoses in 2023, an 11.7% decrease from 2022’s 487, according to the data.

    Curbing opioid addiction has been a major focus on Beacon Hill for a number of years with hundreds of millions of dollars being devoted to expanding treatment and prevention efforts.

    The state has set some of the strictest opioid-prescribing laws in the nation, including a cap on new prescriptions in a seven-day period and a requirement that doctors consult a state prescription monitoring database before prescribing an addictive opioid.

    Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into the state from multistate settlements with opioid makers and distributors, including $110 million from a $6 billion deal with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.

    Under state law, about 60% of that money will be deposited in the state’s opioid recovery fund, while the remainder will be distributed to communities.

    Earlier this week, House lawmakers were expected to take up a package of bills aimed at improving treatment of substance abuse disorders and reducing opioid overdose deaths.

    The plan would require private insurers to cover emergency opioid overdose-reversing drugs such as naloxone and require drug treatment facilities to provide two doses of overdose-reversal drugs when discharging patients, among other changes.

    Another provision would require licenses for recovery coaches, who are increasingly sent to emergency rooms, drug treatment centers and courtrooms to help addicts get clean.

    Backers of the plan said the goal is to integrate peer recovery coaches more into the state’s health care system, helping addicts who have taken the first steps toward recovery.

    Long-term recovery remains one of the biggest hurdles to breaking the cycle of addiction, they say.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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