“I didn’t know it would be so bad,” the new mother said to me, whispering so as not to disturb her two-week old infant rocking in her crib in the dark NICU room. Her baby was suffering from neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, or NOWS, a postnatal withdrawal syndrome that newborns experience after exposure to opioids in utero.
Read more
Naltrexone as PrEP
Desperation is not too strong a noun to describe the present opioid epidemic. Emergency calls in the St. Louis region are running 17% higher than this time last year. Many of these calls are a result of the increased supply of heroin and fentanyl, a drug 50 times more potent than morphine.
READ MORE
First Initial. Last 4.
“First initial. Last four of your social. Zip code.”
In January 2013, this was my supervisor’s daily greeting to all who visited the van. There was not one “type” of client. There was the man in business attire rushing to work; the old man too weak to leave his car unassisted; and the quiet housewife and hostess of a “knitting circle” for her friends.
READ MORE
The Overdose Epidemic
Society loves a good drug crisis. Even our current president Donald Trump knows that: “Drugs… have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here right now.” For decades, this “carnage” has provided politicians, parents, and pundits with a dependable scapegoat for just about anything. A potent mixture of crime, character flaws, and sensational health consequences, drug hysteria consistently delivers.
READ MORE
The Black Belt
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a big small city an hour west of Birmingham. It is home to the University of Alabama and their Crimson Tide football team. This town has Jesus and it has football. Depending on the season, the shouts of “Roll tide!” ring out louder than the bible-thumping “Amens!”
READ MORE
From Altruism to Capitalism: Value-Based Care for Opioids
Last month, Louisiana received a $24-million federal grant to combat the opioid epidemic[i]. This was welcome news after a budget that would have cut $648 million of state funds directed at hospitals, nursing homes, and residency programs was nearly approved. Nationwide, the federal government plans to spend nearly $5 billion dollars[ii] to combat the epidemic. While the figure is staggering, it pales in comparison to the detrimental impact opioid addiction has on the country’s economy.
[Read more…] about From Altruism to Capitalism: Value-Based Care for Opioids