Virtual support groups offer connection and convenience Throughout this spring and summer on Friday nights, people in recovery from substance use disorder and those who support them have gathered – as many as two dozen at a time – for a dance party. They dance in their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. Some partygoers turn […]
Prescribing regulations are relaxed to keep recovery on track Michelle Cangiano, MD, typically sees patients in person to keep them on track with their medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Under existing rules for prescribing buprenorphine, a drug used to reduce opioid cravings and the effects of withdrawal, providers must meet face-to-face with patients […]
Health Department Launches VTHelplink Referral Resource to help people with substance use disorder access services during the COVID-19 crisis The Vermont Department of Health has launched VTHelplink, a new, single-source clearinghouse for Vermonters to receive free, confidential and personalized information and referrals to substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services throughout the state. “The global pandemic has […]
Grant supports creation of new curriculum for future physicians at Larner College of Medicine In 2013, the pioneering efforts of John Brooklyn, MD, UVM clinical associate professor of family medicine, catapulted Vermont into the spotlight as a national leader in the treatment of opioid use disorder with the state’s launch of the “hub and spoke” model. […]
How Greg Freeman and the Occupational Health & Wellness team at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) help employees with substance use disorder who seek treatment build a plan for recovery and see it through. CVPH Helps Workers Overcome Substance Use Disorder Greg Freeman understands too well what a difference compassion makes for people with substance […]
Jon Porter, MD, understands the complexity of the opioid-prescribing debate all too well. Dr. Porter is medical director of University of Vermont Medical Center’s Comprehensive Pain Program, which includes alternative therapies to manage chronic pain. But he’s also a prescriber for dozens of long-term patients who continue to receive elevated doses of opioids. The welfare […]
Unused medication collections expand amid addiction and environmental concerns. Imagine tossing a bottle of leftover medication into the empty bed of a heavy-duty pickup truck. Now, imagine a mountain of blister packs, pill bottles and boxes piling up to the point where it weighs more than the truck itself. That’s what has accumulated in less […]
Every Friday afternoon, Noorin Damji and Kristina Valentine, both second-year medical students at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, set off from campus to pick up the well-stocked mobile outreach van owned by a local nonprofit. Together, they drive north to rural communities in Franklin County, Vt., like Swanton, St. Albans and Enosburg […]
It was 2013, and a young man with opioid use disorder was invited to a meeting of senior leaders from the UVM Medical Center, government agencies and community organizations to share his story about the impact of a lack of treatment capacity in Chittenden County. He represented the hundreds of people on waiting lists at […]
Kim Pratt doesn’t believe she’ll ever recover from the heartbreak of losing her 26-year-old son, Tyler Carter, to his decade-long battle with substance use disorder. But she says her “Embrace Hope” initiative helps her move forward by honoring Tyler’s memory while serving others who are affected by the opioid epidemic. Three months after Tyler’s death […]
