Health News
- As Heroin Problem Spreads, Focus Is On Treatment And Community Efforts To Help Addicts; Needle Exchanges? Not So Much
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Heroin is a growing concern for many Kentucky communities, with much of the discussion around prevention and rehabilitation for addicts over incarceration as the most effective way to fight the problem. The Greater...
- Drug Overdose Deaths Rose 7.6 Percent In Kentucky Last Year
Kentucky had a 7.6 percent increase in overdose deaths in 2014, while the number of deaths attributed to heroin stayed the same, according to the state's 2014 Overdose Fatality Report. The report, issued by the Office of Drug Control Policy, said...
- Cdc Report Finds Heroin Use Increased By 63 Percent Since 2002, With Greatest Increases Seen Among Women And Whites
Heroin use increased 63 percent and heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled since 2002, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As heroin use has increased, so have heroin-related overdose deaths....
- Free Overdose-reversal Kits Are Given To Kentucky Hospitals With The Highest Recent Rates Of Heroin-overdose Deaths
Kentucky hospitals with the highest rates of heroin overdose deaths are receiving funding for heroin/opiate overdose reversal kits, which will be provided free of charge to every treated and discharged overdose victim at the pilot project hospitals, according...
- Congress Is Taking On Opoid Abuse And The Nationwide Increase In Drug Overdoses
Federal officials have become increasingly concerned about the rapid increase in drug overdoses across the country. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a series of hearings on the topic, is looking at how states are dealing with this problem....
Health News
Ky. to share in $2.5 million anti-heroin grant that will pair law enforcement and public health to put more focus on treatment
Kentucky will be among several states to share a $2.5 million federal grant to help fight the heroin epidemic in its communities, according to press release from the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Heroin overdoses killed 233 Kentuckians in 2014 and 230 in 2013. Kentucky had only 22 deaths attributed to heroin in 2011, according to the state's 2014 Overdose Fatality Report.
The $2.5 million will fund the Heroin Response Strategy, a new initiative that creates a partnership among five regional "high intensity drug trafficking areas," which includes Appalachia, New England and the Washington/Baltimore; New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.
The focus of the new program is on treatment, rather than punishment, of addicts.
?It?s something different, pairing law enforcement and public health,? Van Ingram, Kentucky?s director of drug policy, told The Courier-Journal. ?Just arresting and releasing people is not working real well.?
The grant will fund sharing of intelligence, analysis of trends, training of law enforcement and strengthening of partnerships between public-health and public-safety agencies. It will also support the expansion of a Drug Intelligence Officer Network in 15 states, education and training for public-safety first responders, and conferences related to public health and public safety.
In addition to the grant, the Appalachia HIDTA will receive nearly $400,000 to be used for programs to help prevent drug abuse in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia, says the release.
Heroin overdoses killed 233 Kentuckians in 2014 and 230 in 2013. Kentucky had only 22 deaths attributed to heroin in 2011, according to the state's 2014 Overdose Fatality Report.
The focus of the new program is on treatment, rather than punishment, of addicts.
?It?s something different, pairing law enforcement and public health,? Van Ingram, Kentucky?s director of drug policy, told The Courier-Journal. ?Just arresting and releasing people is not working real well.?
The grant will fund sharing of intelligence, analysis of trends, training of law enforcement and strengthening of partnerships between public-health and public-safety agencies. It will also support the expansion of a Drug Intelligence Officer Network in 15 states, education and training for public-safety first responders, and conferences related to public health and public safety.
In addition to the grant, the Appalachia HIDTA will receive nearly $400,000 to be used for programs to help prevent drug abuse in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia, says the release.
- As Heroin Problem Spreads, Focus Is On Treatment And Community Efforts To Help Addicts; Needle Exchanges? Not So Much
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Heroin is a growing concern for many Kentucky communities, with much of the discussion around prevention and rehabilitation for addicts over incarceration as the most effective way to fight the problem. The Greater...
- Drug Overdose Deaths Rose 7.6 Percent In Kentucky Last Year
Kentucky had a 7.6 percent increase in overdose deaths in 2014, while the number of deaths attributed to heroin stayed the same, according to the state's 2014 Overdose Fatality Report. The report, issued by the Office of Drug Control Policy, said...
- Cdc Report Finds Heroin Use Increased By 63 Percent Since 2002, With Greatest Increases Seen Among Women And Whites
Heroin use increased 63 percent and heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled since 2002, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As heroin use has increased, so have heroin-related overdose deaths....
- Free Overdose-reversal Kits Are Given To Kentucky Hospitals With The Highest Recent Rates Of Heroin-overdose Deaths
Kentucky hospitals with the highest rates of heroin overdose deaths are receiving funding for heroin/opiate overdose reversal kits, which will be provided free of charge to every treated and discharged overdose victim at the pilot project hospitals, according...
- Congress Is Taking On Opoid Abuse And The Nationwide Increase In Drug Overdoses
Federal officials have become increasingly concerned about the rapid increase in drug overdoses across the country. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a series of hearings on the topic, is looking at how states are dealing with this problem....