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Confronting the Opioid Epidemic: A Comprehensive Treatment Approach at Odyssey House
With more than 60,000 opioid overdose deaths nationally in 2016, a multi-pronged treatment approach is necessary to address the worst drug crisis in American history. Odyssey House is on the front line in treating those diagnosed with the most severe opioid use disorders. Since 2014, individuals...
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Context Counts in Caring for Chemically Dependent Kids and Families
Despite feeling blindsided, many of us now know that we are living in the midst of an unprecedented drug epidemic. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, since 1999, the rate of overdose deaths including prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic opioids such as...
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Improving Behavioral Health Outcomes Through Collaborative Efforts and Strategies
The Staten Island Performing Provider System (SI PPS), formed as a partnership between Richmond University Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), is leading the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program on Staten Island (SI). The goal of DSRIP is...
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Finding a Public Health Vision to Combat the Opioid Epidemic
I am grateful to Behavioral Health News for focusing attention and showcasing efforts and innovation to tackle the opioid epidemic. In behavioral health, we talk a lot about addressing silos and integrating across providers, community members, and peers. Behavioral Health News is therefore an...
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Leveraging Technology in Enhancing Opioid Care: How NYC Well is Providing Vital Connections and Support
In 2016, New York City lost, on average, between three to four people per day to drug overdoses, with approximately 80% of these overdose deaths involving an opioid. The number of deaths resulting from opioid overdoses in 2016 exceeded the number of deaths from car accidents and homicides combined...
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Medication-Assisted Treatment: An Effective Yet Underused Intervention for Treating Opioid Use Disorder
The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis. Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic medical condition of epidemic proportions, yet one of the most promising, evidence-based treatments for OUD is underused. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration...
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New York State Expands Services to Combat Addiction and Address the Opioid Epidemic
In September, we marked Recovery Month, the annual observance dedicated to increasing awareness of substance use and mental health disorders. We also celebrate people in recovery, and their successes. And thanks to all the great work we are doing in New York State, we are seeing more and more of...
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Opioid Addiction Wears Many Different Faces
Opioid addiction wears many different faces. It is time to open the door to stop the epidemic of people addicted to opioids. Some people going into surgery come out needing medication for pain. In a book by Arwen Podesta, MD, called Hooked: a Concise Guide to the Underlying Mechanics of Addiction...
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Pain and Its Impact on the Opioid Epidemic
In several past articles on the opioid epidemic in America, I have complained that the problem of severe, chronic pain has been overlooked as a contributing factor. It appears that that is no longer true. For example, a very recent report by the National Academies of Science to the Food and Drug...
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Taking a Holistic Approach to Treating Opioid Addiction
Opioid overdoses led to more than 33,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2015—an average of 91 per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That national death toll is the “equivalent to America enduring another 9/11 attack every two-and-a-half weeks,” says New Jersey governor Chris...
