The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released new Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants.    SAMHSA’s Clinical Guidance comes at a time of great need for effective opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment.  In 2016, over 20,000 pregnant women reported using heroin or misusing pain relievers in the past month. Newborn babies of mothers who used opioids while pregnant are at risk of neonatal abstinence syndrome–a group of physical and neurobehavioral signs of withdrawal. The guidance, which consists of 16 fact sheets on prenatal, infant, and maternal postnatal care,…

  Local law enforcement is renews it commitment with Cleveland County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition to help prevent underage drinking in the county. On Feb. 28, leaders of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby Police Department, Boiling Springs Police Department and N.C. Highway Patrol, came together to renew their commitment to working to prevent underage drinking in Cleveland County with a signing of a memorandum of understanding in partnership with the coalition. The action plan strategies target two main ways young people often access alcohol according to youth surveys and focus group discussions; adults buying and supplying alcohol for underage…

A study of more than 100,000 surgical cases at University of Virginia (UVA) Health System found patients’ pain scores improved even as doctors gave fewer opioids. Two key factors were associated with this finding: Opioids make patients more sensitive to pain, though the reason why that occurs is unclear. So reducing the amount of opioids given to patients might by itself improve pain scores. UVA began implementing the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program, which increased the use of non-opioid pain medications, such as lidocaine and acetaminophen, which is commonly used in over-the-counter pain medications.  Click HERE for more on this…