Here’s what’s happening in health in Rhode Island, Nov. 15:
OPIOID ADDICTION TREATMENT FOR INMATES: -The medical director for state correctional system, Dr. Jennifer Clark, told members of the governor’s opioid overdose task force that more inmates will be getting medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction.
This is big news: until recently, only pregnant inmates got to continue methadone, which is one treatment for this addiction. Everyone else would be tapered off the medication. Now, inmates who arrive at the ACI on methadone will get to continue that treatment, and inmates who aren’t on any treatment will be offered the chance to start it. Also, inmates who have been incarcerated for a while will be offered the opportunity to start some form of treatment before their release. Newly released inmates are at the highest risk for overdosing on opioids. That’s because, inside prison, they usually haven’t been on any opioids, and so their tolerance has decreased. If they relapse upon release, using drugs at the same dose they were used to before being incarcerated, it could kill them. Currently there are 120 inmates on medication-assisted treatment. The ACI expects to be able to treat about 300. A large percentage of inmates are “behind the walls” because of a drug-related offense.
SCITUATE HEALTH STATION: A new neighborhood health station has opened in Scituate, RI. The station, operated by health care provider WellOne Primary Medical and Dental Care, will provide medical, dental, and behavioral health care on a sliding scale. And it aims to enroll every Scituate resident, according to former health department director Dr. Michael Fine. Fine has been a driving force behind the “health station” concept, which he says differs from a community health center in that the health station sends teams into the community to care for those who haven’t yet enrolled or received care at the clinic.
BROWN MED SCHOOL GIFT: Brown University’s Alpert Medical School has received a $27 million dollar gift from the Warren Alpert Foundation to help advance its mission. School officials say “The gift will establish an endowment for Brown’s program for training M.D./Ph.D. students pursuing careers as “physician-scientists,” more than tripling funding for the program, and will create the first endowed professorship in the Brown Institute for Translational Science.” Translational science encompasses the effort to move scientific discoveries from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside. http://news.brown.edu/articles/2016/11/medgift
KIDS COUNT AWARDS: The yearly Celebration of Children’s Health & Presentation of Covering Kids awards took place Monday. Susan Orban with the Washington County Coalition for Children was honored, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Elizabeth Roberts.
FOOD BANK DRIVE: The Rhode Island Community Food Bank starts its annual Holiday Food Drive. The Food Bank serves 59,000 people each month through its network of 160 member agencies. One-third of the clients are children and a fifth are seniors. The organization says it needs, in particular: peanut butter, whole wheat pasta, tuna, brown rice, canned and dried beans, boxed macaroni and cheese, canned soups and stews, granola bars, canned fruits and vegetables, tomato sauce, breakfast cereals and olive oil. More about how to get involved and where to find donation drop-off location at: www.rifoodbank.org
