News Feed
August 23, 2017
National Data Ranks NH, VT in Top 10 States for Alcohol Consumption
In April, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) published its 108th surveillance report, Apparent Per Capita Alcohol Consumption: National, State, and Regional Trends, 1977–2015. This report is the official release of 2015 data for alcohol consumption across the United States in those aged 14 and older.
August 21, 2017
Northeast Node to study Manchester’s Safe Station program
Photo courtesy the New Hampshire Union Leader.
New Hampshire is in the midst of an unprecedented opioid crisis. Recent CDC data from 2015 places the state second in the nation in opioid-related overdose fatalities and first in synthetic non-methadone opioid (fentanyl)-related overdose fatalities per capita. More New Hampshirites die every year from opioid overdoses than residents of every other state in the nation. The state also has one of the lowest treatment availability rates in the nation (for more on this and New Hampshire’s problem, see the Rapid HotSpot Phase I and Phase II studies the Node conducted). People who need help treating their opioid use disorders have limited resources available to them. To combat this problem in the state’s largest city, the Manchester Fire Department created Safe Station, a connection to recovery program that allows users to ask for help and get it immediately. No waiting lists, no multi-visit process, just access to treatment when people need and want it most.
July 19, 2017
Maine partner named as new site in Greater New York Node CTN study
Alcohol and drug use disorders are among the top ten causes of preventable death in the United States, and only a small fraction of individuals with unhealthy substance use are served by the specialty addiction treatment system.(1-4) People with substance use disorders (SUDs) are rarely screened, assessed or treated in mainstream healthcare settings such as primary care clinics and other office-based practices. While mainstream settings represent an ideal place and context to identify SUDs and initiate treatment, efforts to integrate SUD services have largely fallen short.
July 1, 2017
HotSpot Phase II Initial Report Released
The Northeast Node, alongside partners at our parent institution from the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH), have released the initial findings from our Phase II HotSpot study, Understanding Opioid Overdoses in New Hampshire.
June 13, 2017
On Tuesday, May 30, 2017, the Northeast Node of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network, together with the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, welcomed the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Dr. Nora Volkow, and New Hampshire State Representative Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH2) to discuss New Hampshire’s Opioid Crisis.
June 13, 2017
NH launches Zero Left campaign to eliminate leftover prescription opioids
In response to the opioid crisis affecting the region, New Hampshire’s Granite Health announced the launch of the Zero Left campaign. The goal is to educate the public and provide services so that no “leftover” prescribed opioids end up in medicine cabinets where others can easily access them.
May 25, 2017
Northeast Node co-hosting NIDA Director, NH state rep at opioid crisis conference
Together with the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, the Northeast Node of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network will co-host Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and New Hampshire State Representative Ann McLane Kuster, at a conference focused on New Hampshire’s opioid crisis.
May 22, 2017
April DMI report: NH projecting a 9% increase in OD deaths over 2016
The New Hampshire Drug Monitoring Initiative (DMI) has released its April 2017 Drug Environment Report. As of April, New Hampshire is projected to see a 9% increase in overdose deaths over 2016.
May 19, 2017
Buprenorphine waiver course for PAs, NPs now available
The Providers’ Clinical Support System for Medication Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT) has big news to announce! A new free course is now available for nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants to become waivered to prescribe buprenorphine.
The new course covers the required 24-hour training requirement, including an 8-hour waiver training and 16-hour Opioid Use Disorder treatment training.
You can access the course here.
April 1, 2017
Dr. Alan Budney attends the College on Problems of Drug Dependence Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill
On March 28, 2017, Northeast Node Core Investigator Dr. Alan Budney attended the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill and met with 28 Congressional offices to advocate for funding for drug abuse research.
Read a summary of the Advocacy Day’s highlights here.
Dr. Budney is the president-elect of CPDD and has been a strong member of the Northeast Node’s Core Investigative team since our inception. Read his biography here.