As the number of annual drug overdose deaths across Tennessee continue to rise to record levels, officials with the Sumner County Anti-Drug Coalition say a recently awarded grant could help save local lives. The Gallatin-based nonprofit, which aims to eliminate substance abuse across the county, was one of seven organizations in the state to receive a Strategic Prevention Framework for Prescription Drugs (SPF RX) grant from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, according to Liz Johnson, executive director of the Sumner County Anti-Drug Coalition. The five-year, approximately $200,000 grant, aims to help reduce the number of local overdose deaths, as well as cut down
The state’s new weapons to fight the opioid addiction epidemic might be nurses who have been addicts themselves, and naloxone kits in the hands of those most likely to overdose. Oh, and $13.8 million from the Sen. Lamar Alexander-led 21st Century Cures Act. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse is counting on its piece of the 21st Century Cures money to come through as early as this month. If the Tennessee legislature also passes Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed budget, which includes $6 million for substance abuse services, the department expects to be in an even better position to make a dent in the problem. The federal government anticipates the $13.8 million from 21st
To understand what brought the scores of people to a forum at the West High School lecture hall Tuesday night, you must look at the numbers in the opioid epidemic. Tennessee has the second-highest opioid prescription rate in the country, more than one prescription for every man, woman and child. Opioid prescription and related deaths in Tennessee hit an all-time high of 1,451 in 2015. Almost 2 million Americans abused or were dependent on opioids in 2014. 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, including prescriptions and heroin. As many as 1 in 4 people receiving a prescription opioid long term in primary care struggles with addiction. More than 1,000 people are treated daily in
To understand what brought the scores of people to a forum at the West High School lecture hall Tuesday night, you must look at the numbers in the opioid epidemic. Tennessee has the second-highest opioid prescription rate in the country, more than one prescription for every man, woman and child. Opioid prescription and related deaths in Tennessee hit an all-time high of 1,451 in 2015. Almost 2 million Americans abused or were dependent on opioids in 2014. 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, including prescriptions and heroin. As many as 1 in 4 people receiving a prescription opioid long term in primary care struggles with addiction. More than 1,000 people are treated daily in
I want to share with you all about the difficulty I am still having getting Narcan this year. Last year I had private insurance through my husbands work and that was through United Health of River Valley, in November of 2015 I was able to obtain the Narcan (which is now on recall for faulty administration which tends to stream rather than mist) for a copay of $4. This year when I tried to renew my Narcan I was told with TennCare I need Dr.'s prior authorization for it to be covered. The Dr. at Rural Health Consortium will not give prior authorization because I don't take any opiates myself. They are unfortunately uninformed regarding the law in TN (TN Senate Bill No. 1631, Ch.623), one medic
Knox County Commission approved two resolutions on Monday to help bring about a diversion facility – also called a safety center – for people with mental illness or substance abuse issues who would otherwise end up in jail. The pair of resolutions were approved 10-1 each, with Commissioner Randy Smith opposing. Smith represents the district in Northwest Knoxville where the facility would go. "I want to make it perfectly clear that the people of this community aren't opposed to helping," Smith said. "I don't think they're as concerned about the safety as they are the expansion – the rapid expansion – of those services in the area." The Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center would be at 3343 Dew
The Knoxville City Council will vote its approval or disapproval for the first time on the jail diversion center, or safety center, that has been the topic of debate in Knox County for the last several months Tuesday night. The Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center is for a 72-hour treatment facility for people with mental health issues or addiction problems who would otherwise go to jail for low-level offenses. The Council will vote on a resolution that will allow Mayor Madeline Rogero to work on a contract between the city, county and the Helen Ross McNabb Center. If approved, the Council will agree to pay $400,000 a year for three years for the center and will agree to give a one-time dona
KNOXVILLE Three decades ago, when Chris Blach began his career as a paramedic, he carried naloxone. Emergency medical technicians used the drug for patients who weren’t breathing after a narcotic overdose — it can reverse narcotics’ depressive effect on the respiratory system. For a time, they also gave it after strokes, until studies showed it didn’t decrease pressure on the brain. In either case, an ambulance might go weeks without restocking naloxone. Those days are gone. Now the drug is used solely for suspected narcotic overdoses — and American Medical Response, the ambulance company serving Knox County, averages 40 doses a week. “We’re purchasing double what we were last year,” said Bl
Joy Fanguy was so afraid of overdosing on pain pills that she kept a running log of how many she'd taken on her nightstand. Some nights, she scrawled a note in the event she didn't wake to let her loved ones know her death was not a suicide. "I was always afraid I would take too much so I wrote it all down," Fanguy said. Fanguy got her first taste of prescription painkillers around age 14, when she was given Percocet for migraines. She was addicted by the time she could legally drink, and it would be almost eight years before she recognized she needed help. Now 31, she's left the log behind and is moving into adulthood. She is sober, having escaped the grip of a drug that killed more than 1,
Wendell Taylor hurt his back in the midst of a rough divorce nearly a decade ago. His doctor gave him a prescription for painkillers. Before long, the former West Tennessee concrete business owner needed the opioids to numb his physical and mental pain. But in his recovery, Taylor needed God. "God has led me to get involved with places where you can grow relationships with him and other people," said Taylor, who marked one year of sobriety in December. "The last year has just really been a miracle." After his second round of treatment, Taylor, 50, sought out faith-based recovery programs. He moved to a Christian halfway home in Nashville, joined a 12-step program at a nearby church and found
(CNN)House GOP leaders are now looking to change an Obamacare provision that guarantees all health insurers cover services such as maternity, mental health and prescription drugs, in hopes of wooing conservative lawmakers to their side. The dramatic shift -- which would strike at blow at the heart of Obamacare -- comes after conservative Freedom Caucus members lobbied President Donald Trump Wednesday to eliminate the provision, which is not in the current GOP health care plan. Trump, House leaders, conservatives working on health care deal The measure requires insurers to cover 10 "essential health benefits" in all policies. It has made coverage more comprehensive and prevented insurers from
KNOXVILLE (WATE) – A new health study finds the first prescription that patients get for opioid painkillers has a large influence on their risk of long-term use. Opioids provide relief for people in chronic pain, but they’re also the leading killer in the current epidemic. Ron Stephens says It all started with shoulder pain, a doctor visit and a prescription for pain killers. “When I was injured, I became dependent on the medication, until it became a problem,” said Stephens, who is a recovering addict. Pills meant to last as a month-long supply disappeared within two weeks. “In the morning and the first thing I needed to do was to take a pill,” said Stephens. Research by the Centers for Dis
The landmark legislation that would have made medical use of marijuana legal in Tennessee is officially dead for the year. The House sponsor of the legislation said Tuesday the bill was being taken off notice for the current legislative session and a task force would be established by legislative leaders House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally to discuss the issue this summer. But Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, said it's not because of the lack of support in his chamber that the bill (HB0495) died. "The Senate, bless their heart, are just scared to death of their voters," Faison said Tuesday after the House Health Committee punted a non-binding marijuana-related resolution to sum
The safety center to divert the mentally ill and substance abuse offenders from jail has moved further along by Knox County Commission. In Monday's work session the commission voted to place two resolutions on the agenda for next week's regular meeting. One resolution is for a 20-year, $1.2 million lease agreement on property for the safety center at 3343 Dewine Road; the other is a three-year contract with the Helen Ross McNabb Center to operate the place — with an option to renew for the three-year terms. The McNabb Center would receive $600,000 from Knox County and $400,000 from the city each year, with an additional $200,000 from the city for building renovations. Jerry Vagnier, CEO an
The forum will be held from 12:15-1:15 in the back gallary at the Reece Museum on ETSU's campus. The physical address for the Reece Museum is 363 Stout Drive. Please park in lot 34 for this event as issuance of tickets have been suspended for day of the event (Please see attached ETSU map for details) Please RSVP at storkj@etsu.edu <maito:storkj@etsu.edu> or (423) 439-4203 so that we will be able to have an accurate headcount and to plan seating accordingly.
Last year 237 people died in Knox County of apparent drug overdoses. This year has started out just as bad with prospective overdose deaths happening about five times a week. Authorities are scrambling to find a solution. In 2015, Knoxville police started carrying Naloxone, which blocks the effects of the drugs on the respiratory and central nervous system. By January of this year, officers had saved 49 lives by administering the antidote. Still, the epidemic claimed more than 1,400 lives statewide last year. The plague has rocked the nation, and Tennessee has been especially hard hit. In 2015, health care professionals in Tennessee wrote more than 7.8 million opioid prescriptions — the equi
Knoxville Police Department officers have saved four people from heroin overdoses in the past week, according to a news release. The first save occurred at a Chapman Highway motel on Saturday. Officer Travis Harvey found an unresponsive 35-year-old woman in a hotel room. Harvey administered Naloxone to the woman, who began breathing again after about 30 seconds, according to the release. The second life saved was Monday when officer Mike Riddle was called to an unresponsive person in the driver's seat of a vehicle on Parkside Drive. Riddle saw a syringe and a belt nearby. After Riddle administered a dose of Naloxone to the 36-year-old man, he began to breathe again. He was taken to a hospita
As both anticipation and wariness mount ahead of the imminent opening of the Gray addiction treatment clinic, supporters and critics alike have seen developments in their corner. Officials have signed off on final renovation plans for the 203 Gray Commons Circle facility, bringing the clinic a step closer to opening. And on Feb. 9, a state lawmaker filed a bill he says will protect constituents concerned about the clinic’s impact on Gray. Woodridge CEO Lindy White said Friday that in the past 45 to 60 days, officials in the Mountain States Health Alliance and East Tennessee State University partnership have concentrated on the design and renovation needs of the facility. Jointly operating un
