Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Two Utah 13-Year-Olds Die From Synthetic Opioid 'Pink'
The Washington Post: Synthetic Opioid Nicknamed ‘Pink’ Blamed For Deaths Of Two 13-Year-Old Utah Boys
Ryan Ainsworth and Grant Seaver, both 13, were students at Treasure Mountain Junior High School in Park City, Utah. They were best friends who shared the hobbies of adventurous Utah teenagers — spending afternoon on skis, dirt bikes or skateboards. Relatives spoke of their bright and beautiful smiles. “Grant was a happy boy,” as Lisa Sippel described her nephew to Utah’s Fox 13, “who lived every minute of his short life to the fullest.” In September, the young teens died within 48 hours of each other. (Guarino, 11/4)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Area School Systems Stock Heroin Overdose Drug
Baltimore-area school systems are stocking their health suites with naloxone, the heroin overdose drug, and training nurses to administer it.Use of naloxone has become commonplace for paramedics, police officers and family members of addicts as the number of opioid-related deaths has increased dramatically in Maryland and across the country. ... Anne Arundel County schools began stocking naloxone — also known by the brand name Narcan — in school health rooms last spring. Baltimore County and Carroll County started programs this school year. (Wood, 11/3)
