There are positive signs in the Cape Fear region that initiatives to combat the opioid epidemic are making headway.
The Cape Fear Opioid Overdose Quick Response Team, a pilot program funded for two years by the North Carolina General Assembly, is reporting good results. In February, they told WHQR’s Vince Winkel they’re moving about ten people a month into treatment. Officials say doctors are prescribing fewer opioids, too. But there’s a legacy issue. Those already addicted often move to heroin when they can no longer get prescriptions for opioids.
According to a recent report from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths among women are on the rise. In New Hanover County, one local doctor, William Johnstone, who is a faculty member of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, recognized the problem among his patients early. He launched a program last year, funded by the county, that offers medically-assisted therapy to women who are either new mothers, pregnant, or who might become pregnant.
Tides, Inc. opened in late 2018, and one of its first patients, Krista Turner, is joining us to to talk about her journey – and her recovery – so far...
Resources:
Trillium Health Resources, Opioid Epidemic & Substance Abuse
