But Good for Undertakers – May 25, 2018 – Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is rising, with patients more likely to get diagnosed in the later stages of the disease. The result could eventually become higher healthcare costs in the US, according to a new study. Jessica Mellinger, MD, gastroenterologist and researcher at the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, told MD Magazine her team had recently been seeing more patients with advanced alcohol-related liver disease. “When these patients with alcoholic cirrhosis are first diagnosed, they tend to be sicker and have more complications of liver disease, on…
Author: Leonard Buschel
YES, Often Times He Is! – May 25, 2018 – John Oliver can be very funny. His show, “Last Week Tonight” cuts up everything from federal fundraising to the royal wedding to cryptocurrencies. I get it. I even like him. I previously applauded his 2016 segment on the behavioral health industry when he said we needed “more investment in treatment programs.” While I know that comments on his show are made purely to engage television viewers—not report any news with accuracy—there are many things in his riff this week on “rehabs” that deserve clarification. 1. Let’s start with a term…
Jane Fonda was Right – May 25, 2018 – New research by the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions has identified a key mechanism in how aerobic exercise can help impact the brain in ways that may support treatment — and even prevention strategies — for addiction. Also known as “cardio,” aerobic exercise is brisk exercise that increases heart rate, breathing and circulation of oxygen through the blood, and is associated with decreasing many negative health issues, including diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. It also is linked to numerous mental health benefits, such as reducing stress, anxiety and depression.…
Another Unkind of Cut – May 25, 2018 – Gov. Rick Scott and leaders of the Florida House rejected appeals to save $28 million in prison programs Friday, choosing instead to allow hundreds of layoffs at inmate transition and treatment programs throughout the state when the programs close at the end of June. The cuts offered up by the Florida Department of Corrections will reduce access to dozens of privately run programs that had a proven track record of preventing offenders from returning to crime and drugs. They will also achieve what FDC Secretary Julie Jones has tried and failed…
Or Surrender? – May 25, 2018 – The death toll associated with the opioid crisis has now surpassed the height of the AIDS/HIV epidemic. More people die each year from abusing opioids than died in the entirety of the Vietnam War. “In Florida, it’s more than 14 people per day,” said Dr. Marvin Seppala. “That’s unheard of.” Seppala is the chief medical officer at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, and oversees all clinical practices at one of the country’s premier networks of treatment centers. Seppala has been studying addiction and evidence-based research practices for decades, and he shared his expertise…
First Person Tragedy – MAY 14, 2018 – As the Canadian physician and addiction specialist Gabor Mate succinctly put it, if we are to successfully treat the current epidemic of addiction, we need to change our thinking and ask “not why the addiction, but why the pain?” … For four years in my early 20s, I was a crack cocaine and heroin addict. I was arrested multiple times for stealing to feed my addiction, frequently shared needles with homeless people, and spent time as an inpatient at a mental hospital. Having tried various treatments with no success, I eventually came…
The Almost Dead – May 25, 2018 – Nearly 120lbs (54kg) of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic painkiller, has been seized by police in Nebraska – one of the largest busts in US history. The drugs, seized last month, could kill over 26 million people, according to estimates by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Police found the fentanyl in a fake compartment of a lorry. The driver and a passenger were arrested. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 30-50 times more potent than heroin. It was the largest seizure of fentanyl in state history, Nebraska State Patrol said in…
Be Your Own Best Friend – May 22, 2018 – “We’re all our own worst critics.” Ever heard that one before? Yes, it’s an obnoxious cliché, but it’s not just self-help fluff. Evolutionary psychologists have studied our natural “negativity bias,” which is that instinct in us all that makes negative experiences seem more significant than they really are. In other words: We’ve evolved to give more weight to our flaws, mistakes and shortcomings than our successes. “Self-criticism can take a toll on our minds and bodies,” said Dr. Richard Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at…
An New OLD Approach to Prevention – May 27, 2018 – Somewhere in 1950s Georgia, a teacher brought a whiskey bottle and a Bible to her classroom. She stood in front of her elementary-school students and asked, “What do you think of that, do they belong together?” A firm “no” was the teacher’s eventual reply. She then moved the two objects farther apart, prompting a second question, “Now, that is all right, isn’t it?” Students, now implicitly understanding the lesson, were expected to respond with another resounding “no.” The teacher explained further, “Now, [they don’t] need to be close together…
On and Off-Stage Victory (PLUS)??? – May 23, 2018 – Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of the iconic trio Run-DMC recently opened in an article written for Men’s Health Magazine about his battle with addiction, and truths he discovered via therapy. “I want people to get help. I did it. I’m not a genius … I’m not a rocket scientist,” the soon-to-be 54-year-old Hip Hop legend wrote. “All I am is a living, breathing example that anyone can defeat whatever it is that they’re battling.” “It wasn’t until I went to seek help that I finally understood I had a problem,” he…
Where Were the Counselors? – May 26, 2018 – The 27-year-old father and aspiring rapper from New Jersey was trying to turn his life around after struggling for years with an addiction to marijuana and the drug Molly, a supposedly pure form of MDMA that’s often cut with other drugs, his mother Yvonne Ketter-Walls said. When he decided last spring that he was ready to get clean, his extended family in Schenectady helped him enroll at the St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center in Troy to detox, then got him into a halfway house in Troy, and finally into supportive living…
America’s Grave Fillers – May 29, 2018 – The head of the Justice Department’s criminal division at the time, Alice S. Fisher, did not respond to emails seeking comment about the decision not to pursue indictments. That decision followed meetings with a Purdue Pharma defense team whose advisers included Rudolph W. Giuliani, a onetime United States attorney and former New York mayor. Mr. Giuliani, who was then regarded as a potential Republican presidential candidate, is now a legal adviser to Mr. Trump. The Justice Department hailed the settlement as a victory. But several former government officials said the decision not…
Getting Back Up! Bravo! – April 30, 2018 – “My name is Jason and I’m an alcoholic-addict. I have 39 days of sobriety after being active in my addiction for the past three + years; before that, I had four years of sobriety. Working in the field of recovery is something I love; I’m passionate about it. However, I became complacent and I was blindsided,” he wrote via Instagram. He continued: “I am beyond embarrassed. At first I was full of shame and guilt, but I am learning to forgive and move forward. I can only hope my pain will…
NY Times Feature – May 18, 2018 – A bottle of laudanum, a highly addictive liquid preparation of opium widely used as a painkiller and sleep aid in the late 19th century. After the death of her father, a prominent hotel owner in Seattle, Ella Henderson started taking morphine to ease her grief. She was 33 years old, educated and intelligent, and she frequented the upper reaches of Seattle society. But her “thirst for morphine” soon “dragged her down to the verge of debauchery,” according to a newspaper article in 1877 titled “A Beautiful Opium Eater.” After years of addiction,…
The Comeback Kid – May 19, 2018 – Racing for Recovery is the treatment program Crandell helped create to assist others in their road to sobriety.Years after being homeless in Florida, Crandell is a family man and licensed professional counselor who has competed in 41 half IRONMANs, 28 full IRONMANs, and 2 ultra IRONMANs. Crandell says he had his first drink when he was just 13 years old. At 19, he found himself homeless and suicidal. Crandell says during those years, he used to watch IRONMAN competitions on TV. After his third D-U-I in 1993, Crandell got sober. “It was…
CBS VIDEO – May 24, 2018 – Nearly 100 people had to be hospitalized over the past week due to a tainted batch of K2 in Brooklyn, health officials say. On Thursday night, CBS2’s Ali Bauman took an exclusive look at the NYPD’s overdose squad, working to get the drug off the streets … Overdoses can turn a neighborhood in to a zombieland. “I came out and there were two people ODing across the street. Then, the next day, I came out and there were two people ODing across the street again,” resident Dan Foley said. The K2 epicenter is…
Rolling Stone Investigation – May 18, 2018 – The War on Drugs Expanded the Ways People Use Heroin – and Set the Stage for the Opioid Crisis In the Sixties and Seventies, just about all heroin addicts were intravenous users, but as the purity of the drug increased, so did potential methods for use. During the 1960s, heroin use rose, in part, due to soldiers returning from Vietnam who were exposed to the drug overseas, and drug dealers in urban centers seized on this opportunity. Then, in the summer of 1969, when Nixon declared his war on drugs, he cited…
Start Trudging NOW! – May 23, 2018 – The last thing Lizabeth Loud wanted, a month from giving birth, was to be forced into treatment for her heroin and prescription painkiller addiction. But her mother saw no other choice, and sought a judge’s order to have her committed against her will. Three years later, Loud said her month in state prison, where Massachusetts sent civilly committed women until recent reforms, was the wake-up call she needed … “I was really miserable when I was there,” the 32-year-old Boston-area resident said. “That was one bottom I wasn’t willing to revisit again.”…
Keeping Them Honest – May 23, 2018 – Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s Senate bill has been voted out of the U.S. Commerce Committee and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. The bill would crack down on addiction treatment fraud across the country. This comes just days after 13 News told you about a billing issue going on at suboxone clinics. Some clinics are billing patients for services already covered by Medicaid. In response, Senator Capito introduced the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018. “I mean nothing could be sadder to me that when you decide…
Deaths Be Damned – May 22, 2018 – The former New York mayor also secured an agreement that greatly restricted further prosecution of the pharmaceutical company and kept its senior executives out of prison. The US attorney who led the investigation, John Brownlee, has defended the compromise but also expressed surprise that Purdue did not face stronger action from federal regulators and further criminal investigation given its central role in the rise of the epidemic. Connecticut-based Purdue is now facing a wave of civil lawsuits as New York, Texas and five other states have joined a growing number actions against…
Broken Promises? – May 23, 2018, – Elements Behavioral Health Inc., which operates the addiction-rehabilitation center where actress Lindsay Lohan and singer Britney Spears sought treatment, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protectionWednesday with a deal to a group that includes hedge fund BlueMountain Capital and Platinum Health Care founder Ben Klein for $65 million. The privately owned company, based in Long Beach, Calif., was exploring a sale earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The company had previously considered a sale in 2014 when it was projected to produce $25 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation…
Please Don’t Keep Coming Back… – May 21, 2018 – JACKSBORO, Tenn. (AP) – On opposite sides of the county jail, a mother and her son chat about school, girls, birthday gifts — and their future together. They aren’t allowed to see each other face-to-face, so the inmate and the fifth-grader connect by video. “Hi, Mommy,” 10-year-old Robby says to Krystle Sweat, clutching a phone in the visiting room as he looks at his mother on a screen, sitting in her cell. Robby hasn’t hugged or even touched her since Christmas Day 2015, just before Sweat wound up back behind…
Have They Ever? – May 14, 2018 – Is state-level medical cannabis access mitigating or fueling America’s opioid crisis? Testifying before Congress last week, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) acting administrator Robert Patterson claimed the latter. But when he prompted to provide evidence in support of the agency’s position, he acknowledged that he could not. His failure to substantiate this claim is unsurprising. That is because numerous peer-reviewed studies show that increased cannabis access is associated with declining rates of opioid use, abuse, hospitalizations, and mortality. Among patients enrolled in state-sanctioned medical marijuana access programs, participants’ use of not only opioids, but…
Knock Knock, Who’s There? – May 15, 2018 – When it comes to the availability of help for those addicted to drugs, Texas performs worse than any other state. According to a new study by the personal finance website Wallethub, Texas lands at the top of the list of states with the fewest substance abuse treatment facilities per 100,000 residents. Wallethub also ranked states according to drug use by residents. On that list, only Colorado was in the top half of states. Colorado had the 12th highest per capita number of drug users. Despite the lack of available help, Texas…
What’s Wrong? – May 16, 2018 – Emet Oden tried reaching out in the only way he knew how. “I had been struggling with my mental health and, specifically, suicidal thoughts since the eighth grade,” said Oden, who is now 18. “I didn’t want to talk to my friends about it, because they never knew how to handle it. I just didn’t want to bother them.” He dropped heavy hints around some teachers he trusted, but they didn’t pick up on the cues. “I was kind of hunched. Walking around, I just looked sad,” said Oden, who’s about to graduate…
Take This John Oliver – Values NAATP endorses values-based practice. At a time when all providers do not share these values, it is imperative that NAATP and its members lead the way. The NAATP Values Statement describes the delivery of high quality integrated service delivered with professionalism. Code of Ethics The NAATP Code of Ethics is a guide for conduct to which all NAATP members must adhere and to which all providers should aspire. The NAATP Code of Ethics sets forth conduct requirements in the areas of Management, Facilities, Marketing, and Treatment. NAATP and its members hold ourselves accountable by…
Finally, a Home Detox – MAY 16, 2018 – “The physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers for patients seeking help and ultimately overcoming addiction,” said Dr. Scot Gottlieb, the FDA’s commissioner. “The fear of experiencing withdrawal symptoms often prevents those suffering from opioid addiction from seeking help. And those who seek assistance may relapse due to continued withdrawal symptoms.” Most patients who take opioid painkillers with a doctor’s prescription can manage their withdrawal symptoms by slowly tapering their dose, giving their body a chance to adjust. But when people have become addicted to opioids,…
No Treatment for You! – May 17, 2018 – The parent of Mercy Hospital is leaving partnerships it has with Portland and Bangor to increase access to substance use treatment, saying the move was prompted by a lawsuit that Portland recently filed against opioid manufacturers. Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems announced Thursday that it was leaving the Greater Portland Addiction Collaborative and a similar group in Bangor. Eastern Maine Healthcare, a nonprofit, also is the parent of Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The city of Portland filed a $1 billion lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies in April, blaming the companies for…
Courtroom Trauma – May 15, 2018 – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is suing five major drug manufacturers, as well as drug distributors in a “comprehensive” lawsuit aimed at punishing them for the spread of opioid addiction. Florida’s move came the same day that five other states sued pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma and accused the company of using deceptive marketing to boost drug sales that fueled opioid overdose deaths. Full Story @ WFTV.com
$$$$$ – May 19, 2018 -Michael Cabell is co-founder of the for-profit Silver Pines Treatment Center in northern Schuylkill County. Some treatment centers have given the industry a black eye recently but Cabell says, “Our whole philosophy is to do the right thing and invest in the business. Not just make this a cash cow.” The rapidly worsening drug overdose crisis in Pennsylvania – and the lure of making money while helping people – has drawn investors and for-profit corporate owners with addresses in. Investors and for-profit corporations are among those buying treatment centers even as overdose deaths continue to…