Kentucky Hospitals Are Helping Turn the Tide on the Opioid Crisis

Kentucky hospitals are helping turn the tide on the opioid crisis

When a Kentucky woman called an emergency department earlier this year, she wasn’t asking whether treatment was available. Through tears, she was asking whether anyone would judge her for needing it. She had been referred to the hospital for help managing opioid withdrawal but was afraid to walk through the doors. A Peer Support Specialist assured her that asking for help wasn’t something to be ashamed of — it was one of the bravest things she c…

A Federal Policy Is Complicating How Organizations Battle the Opioid Crisis

Last year, Baltimore had three mass overdose incidents in the span of three months in its Penn North neighborhood. In one incident, more than two dozen people were hospitalized after many were found unresponsive, lying in the streets or on sidewalks. No one died, but some came close. Follow-up testing found that the street drugs contained high levels of N-methylclonazepam, a benzodiazepine that operates similarly to Xanax or Valium. Like opioids…

A Federal Policy Is Complicating How Organizations Battle the Opioid Crisis - Health Care Today

Last year, Baltimore had three mass overdose incidents in the span of three months in its Penn North neighborhood. In one incident, more than two dozen people were hospitalized after many were found unresponsive, lying in the streets or on sidewalks. No one died, but some came close. Follow-up testing found that the street drugs contained high levels of N-methylclonazepam, a benzodiazepine that operates similarly to Xanax or Valium. Like opioids…