July 2019 Newsletter


In a nationwide first, New Jersey authorizes paramedics to start addiction treatment at the scene of an overdose
By Lev Facher – June 16, 2019
https://www.statnews.com/2019/06/26/new-jersey-paramedics-buprenorphine/
“In a potential paradigm shift for addiction medicine, New Jersey’s health commissioner this week authorized paramedics to administer the drug buprenorphine to patients almost immediately after reviving them from an opioid overdose.”
Western Mass Participates in $89 Million Opioid Study | Connecting Point | WGBY
What To Know About Section 35 Civil Commitments In Mass.
Deborah Becker – July 1, 2019, WBUR
https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2019/07/01/section-35-substance-addiction-treatment-commitments
Safer Opioid Prescribing for Pain in Adolescents and Young Adults in Outpatient Settings
https://www.scopeofpain.org/supplemental-training/safer-opioid-prescribing-for-adolescents/index.php
Report on Pain Management Best Practices: Updates, Gaps, Inconsistencies, and Recommendations
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pmtf-final-report-2019-05-23.pdf
The Gap Between Rich And Poor Americans’ Health Is Widening
By Susie Neilson – June 28, 2019, NPR
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/06/28/736938334/the-gap-between-rich-and-poor-americans-health-is-widening
Using data from more than 5.4 million respondents to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study found that from 1993 to 2017, the black-white gap showed significant improvement. However, measures of health equity and health justice declined over time, and income disparities worsened.
Here is the link to the JAMA study
Brought to you by the Associated General Contractors of MA,
MA Construction Advancement Program, and the Grayken Center for Addiction of Boston Medical Center:
Opioid Use Prevention H.R. Manual for Employers
Save the Date!
(note: Friday July 5th is cancelled due to the holiday)
For more information on FIRST Steps Together, check out their brochure here
Prenatal Risk Factors and Perinatal and Postnatal Outcomes Associated With Maternal Opioid Exposure in an Urban, Low-Income, Multiethnic US Population
Azuine RE, Ji Y, Chang H, et al. – June 28, 2019, JAMA
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2736935
Click here for a list:
Federal Resources for Rural Communities to Help Address Substance Use Disorder and Opioid Misuse
Federal Grants ‘A Lifesaver’ In Opioid Fight, But States Still Struggle To Curb Meth
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, Elizabeth Lucas and Orion Donovan-Smith – June 17, 2019, Kaiser Health News
https://khn.org/news/federal-grants-a-lifesaver-in-opioid-fight-but-states-still-struggle-to-curb-meth/
Binge Drinking and Prescription Opioid Misuse in the U.S., 2012–2014
Esser, Marissa B. et al., American Journal of Preventative Medicine
https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(19)30157-6/pdf
Prescription opioids were responsible for approximately 17,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2016. One in five prescription opioid deaths also involve alcohol. Drinkers who misuse prescription opioids (i.e., use without a prescription or use only for the experience or feeling it causes) are at a heightened risk of overdose. However, little is known about the relationship between drinking patterns and prescription opioid misuse.
The Van Vs. An Opioid Addiction: Taking Treatment To The Streets
Martha Bebinger – June 12, 2019, WBUR
https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2019/06/12/boston-care-zone-van-suboxone
Between a ‘Hub’ and a Hard Place: Three Stories of Opioid Addiction in Rural Vermont
By Kate O’Neill – June 5, 2019
How to Push DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) Conversations Out of the Comfort Zone
By Chera Reid & Jara Dean-Coffey – May 28, 2019
Stanford Social Innovation Review
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_to_push_dei_conversations_out_of_the_comfort_zone
These Drug Users Don’t Want Their Dealer Prosecuted if They OD
By Maia Szalavitz
https://medianetworkonline.com/2018/08/20/these-drug-users-dont-want-their-dealer-prosecuted-if-they-od/
Come and visit the BOAPC table!
Click the above title to see a full list of recovery and substance use resources here in Berkshire County