Texas A&M suspended professor accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in lecture
The professor, an expert on the opioids crisis, was placed on paid administrative leave and investigated, raising questions about the extent of political interference in higher education, particularly in health-related matters.
UT Health SA program offers free rides to appointments for patients with substance use disorder
There are a lot of things that make recovery difficult for people with substance use disorders. One of those barriers is transportation to important appointments. That's why a UT Health San Antonio program is now offering its patients free Lyft rides.
Millions of dollars headed to Bexar County to help opioid addicts get more resources
Bexar County residents who have an opioid addiction will soon have more resources available to help them after the county approved a roughly $12 million portion of a settlement between the State of Texas and Johnson & Johnson worth more than $290 million.
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San Antonio mother who beat opioid addiction gives back
SAN ANTONIO – Tiffany Harper was once a woman addicted to drugs after using it to cope with trauma in her life. That’s when she moved into Casa Mia, a recovery center for mothers recovering from addiction. Casa Mia and the new Women’s Wellness Center is a joint effort by the UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing and Crosspoint. The idea is to provide a place for recovering mothers to live with their babies as they rebuild their lives. “This has had a huge impact on young families,” said Dr. Lisa Cleveland of UT Health School of Nursing.
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Study: Opioid-addicted mothers share many risk factors
SAN ANTONIO Preliminary findings by the UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing show many opioid-addicted women have many of the same risk factors for drug overdoses and deaths. The two-year statewide study was done by nurse researchers at UT Health San Antonio. Cleveland said nationally, another report found maternal overdoses and deaths had doubled in the U.S. between 2007-2016. But she said losing custody of their children is also a leading cause of overdoses, especially if they're in recovery. She said the study will also help in developing a diagnostic tool in hopes of saving the lives of the mothers and their babies who often undergo painful drug withdrawals.
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Opioid drug overdose deaths are down in US, study finds, but Covid-19 could change that
But the report also found that deaths of despair increased in some minority communities during the same time period. While the numbers were mostly level with 2017, they show a 51% increase over the past decade, the report found. Coronavirus could cause a spike in deaths of despairEven more problematic, though, the groups warned, these numbers could change when the coronavirus pandemic is factored in. Some opioid deaths down, other drug overdoses upThe big difference in overall deaths of despair in 2018 compared to the year before, the researchers said, was the lower numbers of overdose deaths involving prescription opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and to a lesser extent heroin, which were down by 2%. Minority deaths of despair on the riseAlso troubling, whites were the only racial group that saw a decrease in overall deaths from drug overdoses in 2018 -- by 6% or 23.3 per 100,000.
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New Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program will help people struggling with opioid addiction behind bars, upon release
The Bexar County Opioid Task Force announced Tuesday that it will be using money from a grant to will help those who are released from jail and reentering the community. "We're going to start a pilot program in the jail that we have a grant for that will help with the transition," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. Bexar County to seek $1 billion in first opioid trial in TexasThe new Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program will help people struggling with opioid addiction behind bars and that are reentering the community. “People would get two shots over 60 days in the jail and two shots after release,” said TJ Mayes, Bexar County Opioid Task Force Chairman. The task force anticipates that the program will serve about 100 people.
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Bexar County, Opioid Task Force announce expansion to medication treatment program
SAN ANTONIO – The opioid epidemic is a growing problem across the nation, and now Bexar County is expanding a treatment program for those who are addicted. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, along with Pct 2. Commissioner Justin Rodriguez and TJ Mayes, chairman of the Bexar County Opioid Task Force, announced an expansion of the county’s mental health program. The medication-assisted treatment pilot program will help people who battled opioid addiction behind bars and are reentering the community while under the supervision of a judge. The Bexar County Task Force is also getting approval for a syringe services program.
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Relying less on opioids after abdominal surgery
CLEVELAND – Recovering from abdominal surgery is tough. A combination of pain blockers and local anesthetics are placed right next to the incision before surgery. "They feel better, they're happier and they have less pain," Horattas said. According to Horattas, the recovery protocol can be used on all abdominal surgery patients and is being expanded to those going through breast surgery. This is a very serious problem because nearly 30% of patients who are prescribed opioids for pain misuse them.