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Once-Resistant Rural Court Officials Begin to Embrace Medications to Treat Addiction

Taylor Sisk

June 29, 2023 |

KFF Health News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Dandridge, Tennessee

Amidst the ever-present opioid crisis, there has been a shift among judges, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies beginning to let go of the stigma associated with medication for opioid use disorder. As of 2022, more than 90% of drug courts in communities with high opioid mortality rates have reported that they allow medications to be used to treat addiction. Some areas have also seen the emergence of drug recovery courts that specialize in helping people facing addiction get treatment, rather than jail time.

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'Harm Reduction Saves Lives': Meet the Appalachians Doing the Work

Taylor Sisk Stacy Kranitz

March 30, 2023 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Several groups in the Appalachian region are turning toward harm-reduction strategies to help those struggling with drug abuse. Research shows that those who participate in syringe exchange programs are five times more likely to enter treatment than those who didn’t participate. Groups like Holler Harm Reduction and Choice Health Network host scheduled drop-ins where they deliver supplies, provide naloxone training and education, and administer disease testing wound care to those in need.

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Tackling Rural America's 'Hidden' Housing Crisis

Taylor Sisk Jan Pytalski

March 15, 2023 |

The Daily Yonder |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Roseburg, Oregon

Organizations like the Gary Leif Navigation Center are providing housing services and support to those in need. The Gary Leif Navigation Center opened in the summer of 2022 and is a low-barrier shelter that provides 10 pods for individuals to sleep and store their belongings in. Due to increased need, plans are currently underway to expand the Center, adding an additional 30 beds.

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Medication and Recovery: Doctors Say Access to Critical Addiction Care is Difficult in Appalachia

Taylor Sisk

October 21, 2021 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wise, Virginia

The Health Wagon provides medical care to those experiencing addiction. The Health Wagon also provides services for those in recovery, including medications, counseling, and peer support groups in an effort to reduce relapses and overdose deaths which have skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In Southwest Virginia, Reestablishing a Rural Hospital System Requires Rebuilding Trust

Taylor Sisk

July 08, 2021 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Virginia

When two hospital systems merged to create Ballad Health, agreements ensured all hospitals would stay open for at least five years and essential services in each of the rural and poorly served counties would be maintained. Enforceable price controls lowered patient costs and, in an effort to rebuild community trust and improve overall health, $308 million was committed to community-based care. The community health programs are based on the missions of organizations like Health Wagon, which serves its rural patients by forming personal relationships, being easily accessible, and understanding their needs.

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‘This Isn't a Dying Coal Town,' It's a West Virginia Community Rethinking Health Care and Succeeding

Taylor Sisk

July 01, 2021 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Williamson, West Virginia

Williamson Health and Wellness Center is a federally qualified health center in rural West Virginia, that provides medical, dental, and mental health care as well as chronic-disease management and wellness coaching on a sliding scale. The health center addresses social determinants of health with programs like fresh produce delivery, a community garden, and workforce development. The community health worker program has seen success by hiring local people to visit patients at home and work with them to monitor their blood sugar, take their medications properly, and learn healthy lifestyle choices.

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From Appalachian Cities to Hollers, Community Health Workers Are a ‘Course Correction to Inclusion'

Taylor Sisk

May 18, 2021 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

Awareness is growing that community health workers (CHWs) are an effective way to address social determinants of health and reduce health inequities. The success of CHWs is due to the fact that they share life experiences with their patients and their ability to build trust. For example, the cadre of CHWs working in rural and urban Appalachia go into their patients’ homes to provide fundamental care – like monitoring vital signs and blood sugar -- and discuss quality-of-life issues – like nutrition and exercise. Being in the home allows them to gain insight that doctors in an office don’t have access to.

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COVID-19 Accelerated This West Virginia Community's Efforts to End Homelessness

Taylor Sisk

May 05, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Clarksburg, West Virginia

West Virginians from Clarksburg mobilized to tackle the issue of homelessness once the pandemic highlighted the vulnerability faced by the homeless who could not shelter in place. Advocates came together to get people off the streets and into motel rooms paid for by nonprofits and organized by local government. The city looked 40 miles away, to the achievements of Morgantown, which was able to bring together different sectors to keep people off the streets. Immediate goals of keeping people safe from the virus are part of a long-term plan to create housing and provide mental and physical health services.

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When a Medical Diagnosis is Complex, A Navigator Who Looks Like the Patient Can Make All the Difference

Taylor Sisk

March 04, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Patient navigation, which uses community members as health care informants, is helping to break down social and cultural barriers to accessing care in a community in North Carolina. The navigators are "population-focused," meaning they work in the communities they are passionate about and can relate to in order "to provide culturally appropriate assistance." Since the implementation of the program, doctors at Wake Forest Baptist Health Comprehensive Cancer Center have reported that more patients are seeking care proactively.

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