Announcement!

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has received a generous $15,000 donation from a private family foundation fund at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to support the development of a comprehensive post-overdose engagement program for the Northern Berkshire region.

This work will be undertaken by the Berkshire Opioid Addiction Prevention Collaborative (BOAPC) in the Commission’s Public Health Program, along with several community partners. We are enormously grateful to the foundation for their support of this essential, life-saving work.

Click here for an info-graphic of the “3 Realms of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) & 5 Important Findings

“You’re kind of at war with yourself as a nurse”: Perspectives of inpatient nurses on treating people who present with a comorbid opioid use disorder

Horner G, Daddona J, Burke DJ, Cullinane J, Skeer M, Wurcel AG (2019)

In the midst of an opioid epidemic, health care workers are encountering an increasing number of patients who have opioid use disorder in addition to complex social, behavioral and medical issues. Of all the clinicians in the hospital, nurses spend the most time with hospitalized patients who have opioid use disorder, yet there has been little research exploring their experiences in caring for this population.

Research Article Link: PDF

The Lancet: Drug Use Series

“This Series focuses on opioids, cannabinoids, stimulants, and new psychoactive substances. The Series authors review the evidence on the epidemiology of drug use and related harms and interventions (treatment and policies) to address them. They highlight issues that are likely to become increasingly important in the next decade.”

https://www.thelancet.com/series/drug-use?dgcid=etoc-edschoice_email_tldruguse19

It’s not just opioids: What doctors want you to know about benzos

By Breeanna Hare, CNN – October 4, 2019

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/health/benzodiazepines-this-is-life-with-lisa-ling/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2oOo8mLfZOtFK0NEkpEbFR4nv3YXrF3NMqVKHwiTvat6Y5mRDHPJRQc3g

Understanding why patients with substance use disorders leave the hospital against medical advice: A qualitative study

Rachel Simon, MD, Rachel Snow, MA & Sarah Wakeman, MD – October 22, 2019

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08897077.2019.1671942?journalCode=wsub20

Office Based Addiction Treatment Training and Technical Assistance (OBAT TTA)

New: Videos from Our Experts
https://www.bmcobat.org/resources/?category=8
(indicidual video links below)

Addiction Impacts the Entire Family: https://youtu.be/intxPp34qR0

Tell Me What to Say: How to Approach Challenging Patient Conversations: https://youtu.be/NG6gloGoLoQ

Intersection of Pain and Addiction: https://youtu.be/MjxJHcNxVUc

Polysubstance Use: The Norm Not The Exception: https://youtu.be/OWHyj5rAIHs

Opioid Addiction: Advice for Parents

Save the Date

Registration & Event Information: click here
Or visit: education.baystatehealth.org

California To Make HIV Prevention Drugs Available Without A Prescription

How paramedics can open the door to long-term recovery with buprenorphine

By Ryan Kelley – September 19, 2019

“By leveraging naloxone and buprenorphine, along with behavioral therapies, medication-assisted treatment attacks opioid addiction from all sides”

https://www.ems1.com/addiction/articles/how-paramedics-can-open-the-door-to-long-term-recovery-with-buprenorphine-nGCPEMfWRizxaPgQ/?utm_source=email-to-friend&utm_medium=email

A radical approach to confronting addiction puts human connection first

By Jenny Anderson – September 19, 2019



https://qz.com/1693268/a-new-kind-of-rehab-uses-human-connection-to-treat-addiction/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3_zcd46AqUnbM-wxotD0W8B9paMSORVqjjc6OH6ZB5m7DwWAAyi_4YLEk

Study confirms serious health problems, high trauma rates among unsheltered people in U.S.

DEA allowed huge growth in painkiller supply as overdose deaths rose, IG says