Joel Ebert October 28, 2017 Inspired after attending a conference about pain management and opioid stewardship, Jeffrey Hodrick, an orthopedic surgeon with the Southern Joint Replacement Institute, decided to do something about the ongoing opioid crisis that has impacted Tennessee. After approaching administrators at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, Hodrick and others at his practice and the […]
We all have role to play in ending opioid crisis
August 26, 2017 Marie Chrisholm-Burns, Guest Columnist Opioids — medications used to treat pain and associated with euphoria — are responsible for as many as 91 overdose deaths every day in the United States. Today, opioid misuse is a national crisis. In fact, the government declared it an official national emergency earlier this month. Tennessee […]
Dying at home in pain doesn’t keep relatives from stealing the pills
August 21, 2017 Melissa Bailey Nothing seemed to help the patient — and the hospice staff didn’t know why. They sent home more painkillers for several weeks. But the elderly woman, who had severe dementia and incurable breast cancer, kept calling out in pain. The answer came when the woman’s daughter, who was taking care […]
The opioid epidemic is so bad that librarians are learning how to treat overdoses
June 24, 2017 Darran Simon Philadelphia (CNN) – A crowd hovered over the man lying on the grass as his skin turned purple. Chera Kowalski crouched next to his limp body, a small syringe in her gloved hand. Squeeze. The antidote filled the man’s nostril. The purple faded. Then it came back. Kowalski’s heart raced. […]
Emotions run strong at forum on opioid abuse
Daniel Connolly June 6, 2017 As the Shelby County chief medical examiner, Dr. Karen Chancellor has a close-up view of the increasing number of lives ended by drug overdoses. “Every day I come to work there is an overdose death, suspected overdose death or multiple ones,” she told the audience at the Tennessee Opioid Epidemic Forum Tuesday […]
Drug exposure poses risk for first responders
Don Green May 21, 2017 The rash of overdoses related to opioid use is skyrocketing. Not only are individuals caught in the grips of addiction at risk, but innocent victims who may come into contact with these substances can be affected. Most recently, an Ohio police officer was inadvertently exposed to fentanyl during a traffic […]
BlueCross Foundation Grant Puts Lifesaving Overdose-Reversal Drug in Hands of Law Enforcement
Thanks to a $250,000 grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and 15 other law enforcement agencies across the state of Tennessee will be receiving lifesaving medicine that could help reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths. This lifesaving medicine, called naloxone, works by blocking or reversing the effects […]
Highway patrol gets naloxone under BCBST grant
Holly Fletcher May 2, 2017 More than 2,800 naloxone kits, the temporary antidote to opioid overdose, will be distributed to a variety of agencies statewide in an effort to get more kits of the drug into the hands of law enforcement and first responders. The Tennessee High Patrol will be receiving 900 kits, and every state […]
Retired nurse couldn’t save own daughter from opioids
Dec. 19, 2016 Jessica Bliss Her daughter had nine broken ribs and had a blood clot that required surgery to remove it. So, when Judy Jenkins called about her upcoming visit, the two women made plans to take it easy, go out to eat and visit a spa to get their nails done. Fun, low-key mother-daughter […]
Tennessee needs millions more for opioid treatment, commissioner says
Although Tennessee has made progress on a number of levels in terms of fighting the ongoing opioid epidemic that is sweeping the nation, to really make an impact the state needs to invest in additional treatment, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services said Monday. “In this last year, […]
