Local and state policy makers, health professionals, and others gathered at the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons on Wednesday for the East End’s first opioid forum, “Stories From Suffolk.” READ
Tag: Opioids
A $75,000 federal pass-through grant administered by the state health department will help Suffolk County fund a new training program for first responders on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. READ
Across Suffolk County, 396 opioid-related deaths occurred in 2017 — more than one per day for the year. This year, as of Oct. 1, there have been 171 confirmed opioid deaths countywide.
While Suffolk County does not break down opioid deaths — or the uses of Narcan, the drug that can save the life of someone who is overdosing — by towns or hamlets, there are signs on eastern Long Island that the death rate in this epidemic is at least slowing. READ
One company, the Sackler family’s Purdue Pharma, has played a critical role in instigating an epidemic of opioid addiction in the United States that killed 72,000 Americans last year — more people than perished at the peak of the HIV epidemic or died in car wrecks or shootings last year.
Even now — as the failure to recognize opioid addiction as a chronic disease rather than a moral failing, and limits on insurance coverage keep people from long-term treatment — the painkiller industry is spending nine times more on lobbying to fight regulation than is spent by the powerful gun lobby. READ
After Linn Turecamo attended the Southampton Town Opioid Addiction Task Force’s first community forum in April, she knew she needed to get involved.
The forum that filled the Hampton Bays High School auditorium struck a nerve with the Southampton resident: The stories of addiction shared that night reminded her of so many people that she knew, personally, who were struggling with addiction. READ
Matthew Omlor, outpatient clinical supervisor at the Long Island Center for Recovery in Hampton Bays, said he sees patients — or prospective patients — battling the stigma surrounding opioid addiction every day. READ
At a candlelight vigil at Good Ground Park in Hampton Bays Saturday, those affected by the opioid epidemic gathered to share stories of the loved ones they’ve lost, their own struggles with addiction and the effect of an ongoing crisis.
These are their stories. READ
The Southampton Town Opioid Addiction Task Force will host a candlelight vigil Saturday night to remember those lost to the ongoing addiction crisis. READ