"methadone"

Last year, 245 people died from overdoses in Alaska — more than 100 people more than the average from the previous five years.

Gov. Bill Walker signed a disaster declaration that’s intended to make it easier to give overdose victims the life-saving overdose antidote naloxone. More than 120 Alaskans have died from opioid overdoses over the past three years. Walker said declaring a disaster will enable a coordinated statewide response.

Medication-assisted treatment uses one of several drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration to control cravings and reduce relapses. Despite the evidence, the approach is underused.

Unlike most of the roughly 1,400 methadone clinics across the country, the Broadway Center offers not only methadone, but the two other federally approved addiction medications, buprenorphine and naltrexone, and a full complement of mandatory addiction counseling and group classes.

When a woman addicted to opioids gives birth, she is too often dismissed as an obstacle to her infant’s health. A Connecticut hospital is challenging that attitude — and the culture of care.