(JUNE 14, 2023) Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Daniel Wolfson, M.D., FACEP, and Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Heidi Melbostad, Ph.D., MFT, spoke to Seven Days about the state’s efforts to address opioid addiction.
(Photo: Adobe Stock)
(JUNE 14, 2023) Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for graduate medical education; Daniel Wolfson, M.D., FACEP, associate professor of emergency medicine; and Heidi Melbostad, Ph.D., MFT, research assistant professor of psychiatry, spoke to Seven Days about the state’s efforts to address opioid addiction.
Just a few years ago, it appeared Vermont was making tangible progress, thanks to its renowned “hub-and-spoke” drug treatment system designed to integrate addiction treatment into the normal medical system. But between 2020 and 2022, more people died from fatal opioid overdoses — 614 — than in the previous six years combined. The deepening crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic, is the result of a deadlier drug supply as well as other factors, including a shortage of affordable housing and a lack of places where people can go to detox and regain stability.
Read full story
at
Seven Days