Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Recovery High Schools Offer Students With Addiction Safe Space For Second Chance
Stateline: Amid Opioid Epidemic, States Experiment With Recovery High Schools
As the nation struggles with an opioid-addiction epidemic, states increasingly have experimented with recovery high schools that enroll only kids who have drug and alcohol addiction problems as a way to help treat and support them. Today, there are 27 public or charter recovery high schools in 11 states, including Texas, Minnesota and New Jersey. This month, Florida will open its first public recovery high school, in Jacksonville. In July, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, signed a bill to create a four-year pilot program to allow public school students to attend the state’s lone recovery high school, which is private. (Wiltz, 9/1)
The Associated Press: Heroin Overdoses Surge In Louisville
During a recent shift spent treating numerous overdoses, Dr. Robert Couch heard a similar refrain from patients: they couldn't believe that the small amounts of heroin they took nearly killed them. On Tuesday, at Norton Hospital in Louisville, Couch treated eight overdose patients in five hours — an unprecedented number for the emergency physician. He sees it as a clear sign of a public health emergency. (Schreiner, 8/31)
New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Wins Grant To Expand Access To Substance Abuse Medication
New Hampshire is one of nearly a dozen states getting a one million dollar federal grant to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for drug addiction. New Hampshire currently has the fewest number of physicians in New England who are certified to prescribe Suboxone, a drug used to reduce opioid cravings and ease withdrawals. Recently the federal government raised the number of patients doctors are allowed to treat with Suboxone from 100 to 275. (Sutherland, 8/31)
Denver Post: 3,500 Needles Collected In 2016 At Denver Parks Prompt Drug-User Ban
More than 3,500 needles have been collected on the Cherry Creek trail and in other downtown Denver parks this year, an official said Wednesday, and that uptick in open drug use has spurred a new crackdown. Beginning Friday, Denver police will issue 90-day park or trail suspension notices to people they observe involved in illegal drug activity, whether it’s use, possession, selling or buying. (Murray, 8/31)
