Tag: Drug Overdose

Youth Overdose Victims Not Getting Treatment, Study Finds

A new study has found that less than a third of American adolescents and young adults who experienced a nonfatal overdose were able to get addiction treatment within 30 days. 

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University looked at more than 4 million Medicaid claims records over a seven-year period. They found that fewer than 2 percent of children who experienced an overdose received the care recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for treating opioid use disorder, which includes medication assisted treatment. Less than a third got any follow-up treatment within 30 days.

A quarter of the nonfatal youth overdoses involved heroin. Children who experienced a heroin overdose were 2 and a half times more likely to overdose again than youths using other opioids.

The researchers estimated that teens and young adults are only a tenth as likely as those over age 25 to get the recommended evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder. They said the gap may be because substance use disorder is not often considered as a pediatric disease.

The study was published this month in the pediatric journal of the American Medical Association.  

 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.

West Virginia Drug Overdoses Top 1,000 in 2017

New West Virginia health information shows drug overdose deaths have increased to more than 1,000 in a one-year period for the first time.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the West Virginia Health Statistics Center’s most recent data also shows 870 deaths involved an opioid. That’s about 86 percent of the 1,011 recorded so far for 2017. In 2016, 759 people out of 890 people suffered fatal opioid-related overdoses.

The 2017 numbers are not final.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources said preliminary 2018 data shows 498 fatal overdoses in the first six months in the state. The most recent numbers are from an Aug. 15 analysis.

Between 2016 and 2017, there was also more than a doubling both of deaths related to amphetamine and methamphetamine use.
 

Lawmakers Ask for Harsher Drug Laws After Crash Near Park

West Virginia lawmakers are calling for harsher drug laws following a possible overdose-related car crash that stopped feet away from a playground.

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, tells The Huntington Herald-Dispatch that he wants to create a “punishment that fits the crime.”

The executive director of Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, Kevin Brady, says he’s working with a law firm to draft a bill extending crime penalty enhancements for schools and parks. And the newspaper reports that Cabell County legislators already are on board.

Thirty-four-year-old Tabitha Wyrick’s car smashed into a light pole near a park earlier this month. She was treated with an overdose-fighting drug and charged with driving under the influence. 33-year-old Bradley Stephen Wyrick also was treated and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Cabell County's Overdose Totals Drop in First Half of 2018

County EMS records show Cabell County’s overdose totals fell by 41 percent in the first six months of 2018 compared with the same period a year ago.

The Herald-Dispatch reports the use of naloxone — the drug first responders use to reverse an opioid-induced overdose — decreased by 49 percent in the West Virginia county compared to the first half of 2017.

Cabell County EMS director Gordon Merry says everyone is working toward a common goal in combating drug overdoses, and he thinks the effort is “headed in the right direction.”

Overdose reports fell slightly in June to 101, down from 112 in May — the highest single-month total in 2018. A spike in overdose totals in May followed an April total of 62 — the lowest single-month total since January 2016.

New Report: A Profile of Those Who Fatally Overdose in WV

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources released an analysis today of the factors that contribute to a person’s likelihood of fatally…

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources released an analysis today of the factors that contribute to a person’s likelihood of fatally overdosing. 

The report presents a kind of “profile of an overdose victim in West Virginia.” Researchers found that men are twice as likely to die from a drug overdose as women. They also found that men working in blue collar industries that have a higher risk of injury may be at an increased risk for overdose death.

About 70 percent of those who fatally overdosed had Medicaid in the 12 months preceding their death.

Those who fatally overdosed were also three times more likely to have three or more prescribers compared to the others in the DHHR’s Pharmacy’s Controlled Substances Monitoring Program.

And more than half of those who fatally overdosed had been incarcerated. The risk of overdosing was higher during the 30 days following release from incarceration – particularly among people with incomplete high school education.

Officials say the report highlights opportunities for intervention in at risk people and that the data can be used to target specific segments of the population

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

W.Va. Office of Drug Control Policy Chief Retiring

Jim Johnson, director of the West Virginia’s new Office of Drug Control Policy, has announced his retirement after almost five months in the position.

The office within the Department of Health and Human Resources was established by lawmakers to coordinate and expand state measures against drug abuse.

West Virginia has had the nation’s highest drug overdose death rate and recorded 884 fatalities in 2016.

Johnson was director of Huntington’s Office of Drug Control Policy from 2014 until his retirement there last year. He previously was interim police chief and a police officer in Huntington for more than 40 years.

Department Secretary Bill Crouch says Johnson will continue to work part-time in special projects.

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