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Keyword search: opioid epidemic

By DOMENIC POLI

Intervention from the largest-ever addiction prevention and treatment program produced a 15% reduction in non-fatal opioid overdoses, but no difference in the number of overdose deaths, according to a report published by the New England Journal of...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Expectant mothers prescribed medication for substance use disorders can seek prenatal care without risk of being reported to the state’s Department of Children and Families, under the omnibus opioid bill signed into law this week.That...

By GREG VINE

ATHOL — The Board of Health has recommended that funds coming to the town from the nationwide opioid settlement be directed to the North Quabbin Recovery Center.These funds can be used for services designed to assist residents who are trying to...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

Advocates from the National Coalition to Liberate Methadone discussed the stigma associated with methadone treatment and recommended ways to expand it during a virtual event hosted by the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin...

By MARA MELLITS

Expanding access to methadone, a medication used to fight opioid addiction, is imperative in the effort to curb the nation’s substance use disorder epidemic, regional officials say.Their comments come in response to a recent study published by the...

By DOMENIC POLI

The addiction prevention and treatment implementation study billed as the largest ever conducted found a decrease in perceived stigma toward people treated for opioid use disorder but no difference in stigma toward naloxone.Launched in 2019, the...

By CHRIS LARABEE

With National Recovery Month coming to a close, local agencies and community organizations gathered Thursday to discuss how access to naloxone is one of the keys to addressing the opioid crisis.In a virtual discussion hosted by the Opioid Task Force...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

GREENFIELD — Nicole St. Hilaire recently lost her father to an opioid overdose.On Friday, through her role as outreach manager with CONNECT, St. Hilaire passed out free naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, in an effort to...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

More towns across Franklin County have started the process of installing outdoor naloxone cabinets, increasing access to the life-saving drug that is designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose.The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG),...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — With an eye toward ensuring community feedback informs how the city spends its state-administered opioid abatement funds, city councilors are giving further thought on whether to transfer the money into a Special Purpose Opioid Settlement...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Having already received roughly $400,000 out of its $1.7 million in national opioid settlement funds, the city will soon hold a public hearing so residents can offer suggestions on how the money can best be used to combat the impacts of...

By JAMES PENTLAND

WARE — A new mobile methadone program has begun to fill a large gap in addiction treatment services in the region.Behavioral Health Network, which runs drug treatment clinics in Springfield, Holyoke, Greenfield and Orange, says the mobile program is...

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — As newly released data shows 2023 saw the largest decline in opioid-related overdose deaths in 13 years, members of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region shared their successes with representatives from the...

By JAMES PENTLAND

NORTHAMPTON — Maria Pantoja credits her late aunt and dearest friend Doris Colon with giving her a valuable lesson about helping people in the throes of drug addiction.“She showed me how to treat the person, then the problem,” Pantoja said.Colon had...

By BRENDAN NORDSTROM

Cheryl Juaire lost two of her sons to the opioid epidemic — Corey died from an overdose in 2011, as did Sean 10 years later in 2021.Juaire, founder and president of the nonprofit Team Sharing Inc., now advocates for overdose prevention centers in...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

The federal government is marching to the beat of Behavioral Health Network’s drum in its new methadone treatment regulations, effective Tuesday, April 2.BHN, a mental health service provider in western Massachusetts with methadone clinics in...

By MICHAEL P. NORTON

Massachusetts will receive $8 million to address the opioid crisis as part of a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health.Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the settlement locally, saying it resolves the state’s litigation against...

By CHRIS LARABEE

As money from the nationwide opioid settlement continues to be disbursed to Franklin County towns, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), in partnership with local boards of health, is inviting residents to share their input on how this...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

BOSTON — On her 26th birthday on Nov. 30, 2018, Eliza Harper died from an accidental opioid overdose on the living room couch in her South Deerfield home, despite being in recovery for 10 months.Her then 14-year-old brother, Jackson, was the first to...

By MARY BYRNE

GREENFIELD — The city has received 134 responses to its opioid settlement survey at the midway point in its collection process, with the need for additional housing and recovery options rising to the top of respondents’ priorities.Of the 134...

By MARY BYRNE

GREENFIELD — In collaboration with several social service agencies, the city has installed boxes containing opioid overdose reversal medication in four locations. Naloxone boxes can now be found at Energy Park, Hillside Park and the two Greenfield...