The Impact of COVID-19 on the Opioid Crisis Over the last 90 plus days, much has changed in our world. COVID19 has forced many of us to endure unfamiliar hardships and inconveniences. But our most vulnerable populations, such as those struggling with OUD, have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus. [...]
A Safer Supply Saves Lives Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is considered the gold standard for treating opioid use disorder. But it doesn’t work for everyone, and for those unresponsive to MAT, the next use of illicit street drugs could be their last. This month, Staff Sergeant Conor King introduced us to SaferSupply, [...]
When Keeping Secrets Costs Lives [To protect her privacy Elaine asked us to withhold her last name.] On May 14th Greg received an email from Elaine, a Montgomery County Maryland Resident. She shared the story of her brother Alan who had struggled with addiction, recovery, and relapse for much of his [...]
Adapting Peer Recovery for a Pandemic Three years ago, we profiled AnchorEd, an innovative initiative, developed in Rhode Island. This program enables peer recovery coaches to meet with overdose victims before their release from the hospital. In March, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sent everyone into lockdown. To continue helping people with [...]
Rapid Changes to Opioid Treatment Driven by COVID-19 Last week a STAT News article titled “Covid-19 will worsen the opioid overdose crisis if we don’t prepare now,” stated that, “Missing from the national discussion on the coronavirus has been another vulnerable group: patients with opioid use disorder. Despite ongoing public health [...]
Strike Force Stops Flow of Illicit Opioids In October 2018, the Justice Department's Criminal Division created the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO), Strike Force. This team consists of federal agents, prosecutors, and specialists from different government departments. Together, they combine data analytics and law enforcement to spot dangerous prescription patterns and [...]
MOMS Plus: New Program to Lower NAS Rates Between 2004 and 2011, opioid abuse and dependence among delivering mothers in Ohio grew by 491%. As a consequence, cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), where opioid exposed babies experience acute drug withdrawal following birth, became commonplace. Babies who begin their lives suffering [...]
Don't Live in Denial, Ohio Ohio has one of the highest opioid overdose death rates in the entire nation. Despite research from the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance revealing that most Ohio parents are aware of this, they still underestimate the risk opioids pose to their children and family. To counteract this “not my [...]
Drug & Alcohol Prevention Targets At-Risk Personality Types For years now, schools across the U.S. have been striving to implement more effective drug abuse prevention and education programs to protect adolescents from alcohol & drug abuse. However, despite investing millions of dollars into prevention programs such as D.A.R.E and Nancy Reagan’s “just say [...]
Greg interviews Greg Vovos, a playwright and director who has worked in Cleveland theater since 1998. While Greg has written a myriad of plays, he’s also worked consistently for the Theatre of Healthy Living at the Fine Arts Association; crafting plays for high schools, detention centers, and youth prisons about issues like [...]
Greg interviews Wendy Komac, the CEO and Founding Partner of Luna Living, and Justin, who is currently a patient in recovery. Luna Living is an accredited partial hospitalization and outpatient facility for substance abuse disorders and outpatient mental health care. They aim to treat substance abuse disorders by addressing chronic brain diseases in [...]
Greg interviews Brian Bailys, the founder of Ascent, which specializes in connecting peer recovery coaches with those in recovery through a smart phone app. Together they speak with David, one of Brian’s client’s that’s currently in recovery and using the Ascent mobile app. Greg asks David about his experience with the app and [...]
Greg interviews Jac A. Charlier, the National Director for Justice Initiatives at TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities) in Chicago, Illinois. Jac was instrumental in the creation of STEER (Stop, Triage, Engage, Educate and Rehabilitate) a pre-booking law enforcement and drug treatment linkage program operating in Montgomery County, Maryland. Like many police deflection [...]
Greg interviews Chris Wilkins, the CEO of CHESS Mobile Health. CHESS aims to propagate mobile health resources that increase health service delivery system efficiency, provide users with a sense of control, and inspire others to inform and evolve new health tools. One such tool is CHESS’ recovery app, ACHESS, which provides ongoing support [...]
Greg interviews John Tharp, a sheriff in Lucas County, Ohio, responsible for launching the Drug Abuse Response Team (D.A.R.T.). Founded in 2014, the D.A.R.T. program aims to make a difference in the opioid epidemic in Western Ohio by aiding in the treatment, education, and support of those suffering from substance abuse, as well [...]
Greg interviews Dr. George Elder, the Vice President of Schools and Colleges for Psychemedics Corporation--the world leader in drug testing using hair follicles. After utilizing Psychemedics’ drug testing services as a school Headmaster back in 2005, Dr. Elder became a leader in the advocacy of school drug testing. Greg asks Dr. Elder why, [...]
Greg interviews Rick Maese, a sports features writer for The Washington Post. The Washington Post has had an interest in football and the health and safety issues within the sport for many years. In a recent article about the National Football League’s (NFL) abuse of painkillers, Rick did extensive reporting and research on [...]
Greg interviews Senator Sherrod Brown, the senior United States Senator for Ohio. Prior to his election to office in 2007, Senator Brown served as a United States Representative for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. He also has prior experience as the Ohio Secretary of State, teaching in Ohio’s public schools and working on his [...]
Greg interviews Joel Mowrey, the Executive Director of The Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County. Kelly Hart, a recovering addict, also joins the duo. Located in Portage County, Ohio, The Mental Health and Recovery Board is primarily a funding, monitoring and planning agency. By contracting with outside agencies, the board provides [...]
