From HHS. The Surgeon General Releases Call to Action to Implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG)—in collaboration with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance)—released The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Implement the National […]
Spotlight
Opioid Affected Births Rise
From HRSA. Nationwide Study Shows Continued Rise in Opioid Affected Births A new study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that the rates of pregnant women diagnosed with opioid use disorder and of babies born with withdrawal symptoms increased from 2010-2017. The study, published today in JAMA indicates that […]
Caring for Women w/OUD Toolkit
From HRSA. Caring for Women with Opioid Use Disorder: A Toolkit for Organization Leaders and Providers
Dropping the X-Waiver for Buprenorphine
From the Psychiatric Times. The Department of Health and Human Services moves to reduce administrative procedural barriers to OUD treatment. by Leah Kuntz In an attempt to remove a potential barrier to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a plan1 to drop the X-waiver requirement for buprenorphine prescriptions. Organizations like […]
Construction Industry Hit Hard by Opioid Epidemic
From the Wall Street Journal Opioid Use Hits Construction Industry as Overdoses Soar by Vipal Monga Mark St. Cyr, a construction superintendent in the Pittsburgh area, often sees telltale signs of opioid use among workers at sites where he works. “If I’m supervising 10 guys, two or three will be using almost every day,” said […]
Overdose deaths increase due to synthetic opioids
Official CDC Health Advisory Increase in Fatal Drug Overdoses Across the United States Driven by Synthetic Opioids Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Distributed via the CDC Health Alert Network December 17, 2020, 8:00 AM ET CDCHAN-00438 Summary The purpose of this Health Alert Network (HAN) Advisory is to alert public health departments, healthcare professionals, […]
Online support groups – what was lost/gained
From the Washington Post What was lost when covid forced addiction support groups online — and what was gained by Allyson Chiu In the roughly eight years since she left treatment for alcohol-use disorder, Amy Durham has been to countless recovery group meetings. At first, she went every day, before gradually scaling back to two […]
Mental Health First Responders
From ABCNews How sending mental health responders instead of police could save Black lives “One-quarter of fatal police shootings involve people with mental illness.” by Dr. Divya Chhabra New York City Mayor Mayor Bill de Blasio and first lady Chirlane McCray announced a pilot project this week that experts say could save lives by using […]
Maryland’s 211 Helpline
From WMDT 47ABC New opioid texting program launched from 211 Maryland and RALI by Anissa Lopez, October 21, 2020 MARYLAND- A new texting program recently launched by 211 Maryland and Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative for Marylanders suffering from opioid addiction, as well as their family and friends. Now, all they have to do is text […]
AAAP awarded 2-yr, $32M opioid grant
The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) has been awarded a 2-year grant of $32 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to address opioid use disorders and stimulant use disorders. The Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) network is part of the grant’s coalition of 40 national professional organizations. The Opioid […]