Middlesex Opioid Task Force Information and Resources

New data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health tracks opioid-related overdose deaths in the state by race, ethnicity, and gender from 2014 to 2019. The absolute number of deaths is higher among whites than among Hispanic or Black Americans, though all groups were on an upward trajectory until 2016.

Since 2016, however, the story has changed. While white fatalities have decreased through 2019, opioid overdose deaths among Black Americans — particularly Black men — are accelerating.

On December 11, 2019, the state’s Public Health Council approved new regulations that restrict the sale of nicotine vaping and flavored vaping and tobacco products. This action follows the Legislature passing and Governor Charlie Baker signing into law An Act Modernizing Tobacco Control, which provided the Massachusetts Department of Public Health with additional authority to regulate access to tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems, including vapes. With the actions taken December 11th, the Governor’s temporary statewide ban on the sale of tobacco and vape products in place since September is no longer in effect.

Podcast - Interview with Ipsit V. Vahia, MD, author of Older Adults and the Mental Health Effects of COVID-19

Stress occurs when life events surpass your abilities to cope. It causes your body to produce greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

In short spurts, cortisol can boost your immunity by limiting inflammation. But over time, your body can get used to having too much cortisol in your blood. And this opens the door for more inflammation, Dr. Calabrese says.

"People who suffer from the disease of addiction are particularly vulnerable to both catching the coronavirus and having a more severe disease when they do catch it. There are many reasons for this, but they boil down to something called social determinants of health, which according to the CDC are “conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play [which] affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes.”"

Loneliness is a real health issue — and these steps can help save lives 

"Psychologists note the difference between living alone and loneliness. I live alone and have no family, and usually don’t think much about it. But, as the new pathogen forces us to socially distance, I have begun to feel lonely. I miss the ability to see, converse with, hug, or spend time with friends. Life seems shallower, more like survival than living."

"Executive Director Allie Hunter announces that the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.) has partnered with the Office Based Addiction Treatment Program at Boston Medical Center, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Healthy Streets and AHOPE of Boston Public Health Commission, and three Massachusetts Sheriff’s Departments to launch a Survival Kit program to reduce the risk of overdose for those released from the Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk County House of Correction facilities in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic."

“We’re physically distancing but staying connected socially,” Moreno said. “We’re going to keep supporting our team members the best we can. We keep telling them, ‘We’re in this together.’ ”

The coronavirus has sparked innovations in care that many hope will outlast the pandemic.

"As coronavirus rapidly impinges on our daily routines, demanding this new thing called social distancing and altering habits we had not even been aware of, there are two lessons that can help us meet the challenge. The entire recovering community will benefit from learning the first lesson, and the friends and relatives of addicts might well benefit from paying attention to the second."

"At a time when overdose deaths from opioids and other drugs are rising in many states, addiction specialists worry the changes in a newly isolated America will disrupt the fragile healing process for those who rely on a robust drug-treatment support system. Albright, whose group sessions were suspended on March 11, calls it his “sober network.”"

"What happens when face-to-face meetings, a lifeline for people with addiction, are banned?"

"The far-reaching fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has led to widespread feelings of isolation and anxiety across the nation, and prompted a surge in calls to Massachusetts’ largest suicide prevention hotline, officials said."

VA has released the Safe Firearm Storage Toolkit, which was developed in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry. The toolkit guides communities through the process of building coalitions to raise awareness about safe storage practices.

According to the analysis, an estimated 4.6 million American children reside in a household where at least one gun is kept loaded and unlocked. The study’s authors also determined that the share of child-rearing gun owners who don’t secure all their firearms has nearly tripled since the last time similar research was conducted.

As COVID-19 has upended everyone’s day-to-day routines, anxiety has rushed to fill the void, be it fear of losing one’s job or stockpiling toilet paper. Even in Massachusetts, home to some of the nation’s strictest firearm laws, others say they’re weighing something else: whether to buy — or trying to buy — a gun for the first time in this uneasy reality.

Widespread economic strain, a surge in firearm sales, and social distancing could have grave consequences for victims of intimate partner abuse, experts warn

Combining emergency medical services and vital statistics data, a new study led by researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine provides a unique view of the opioid overdose epidemic in an urban area. The study identifies neighborhoods with the highest risk of overdose and other drug-related disorders, as well as supports efforts for targeted public health interventions