Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Substance Abuse Now Accounts For Nearly One Of Three Minnesota Children Being Removed From Their Homes
The Star Tribune: Opioid Epidemic Drives Thousands Of Minn. Kids Into Foster Care
The number of Minnesota children being removed from drug-addicted parents has reached crisis levels, flooding a state child welfare system that was already operating under heavy strains. As the opioid epidemic has tightened its grip on the Upper Midwest, drug abuse by parents has emerged as the leading reason why children are taken from their parents. Children have been removed from their families because of parental drug abuse on more than 6,000 occasions from 2015 to 2017, according to new data from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). (Serres, 12/1)
The Associated Press: Clinic 1st In Virginia To Treat Opioid-Addicted Moms-To-Be
A Charlottesville clinic has become the first in the state to offer a treatment program specifically for pregnant women trying to break opioid addictions before they give birth. “We were realizing that as the dependent population continued to grow, that the pregnant and addicted population would grow along with that,” said Dr. Christopher von Elten, a co-founder of Addiction Allies. “We kept asking why no one was addressing it, and we decided we would.” Many doctors and clinics are hesitant to offer medications to pregnant women addicted to opioids, said von Elten said, and it can be burdensome for providers to navigate necessary regulations. (Smith, 11/30)
And in other news on the epidemic —
The Washington Post: Isolation And Loneliness May Contribute To Addiction
Feeling lonely? Social isolation isn’t just bad for your mood — it can be bad for your health, too. And in a TEDxMidAtlantic talk, Rachel Wurzman says it contributes to opioid addiction — fueling drug use, relapses and overdoses. Wurzman, a neuroscientist, says she thinks there is a way to make recovery from opioid addiction easier: social connection. That idea is informed by her work with the striatum, a region at the base of the forebrain that helps enable decision-making and is dramatically affected by social connection. (Blakemore, 12/1)
Texas Tribune: House Committee Says Texas Faces "Significant Challenges" In Curbing Substance Abuse
The 108-page report by the Texas House Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Abuse, released just weeks before the start of the 2019 legislative session, outlines challenges and opportunities for the state as it seeks to curb drug addiction among Texans. In the report, the committee wrote that the data on the opioid crisis and substance use disorders are “alarming” and that the state “faces significant challenges.” (Evans, 11/30)
