Public attention shifted to COVID-19, but the opioid epidemic is ongoing.

Mayor Miro Weinberger shares how the City of Burlington is addressing the opioid crisis using a connected network of community organizations called CommunityStat. This action team is responding to the opioid challenge as a public health issue by coordinating police, public health and safety, and social services in Burlington and the greater community.

Jon Porter, MD, understands the complexity of the opioid-prescribing debate all too well. Dr. Porter is medical director of University of Vermont Medical Center’s Comprehensive Pain Program, which includes alternative therapies to manage chronic pain. But he’s also a prescriber for dozens of long-term patients who continue to receive elevated doses of opioids. The welfare

How Greg Freeman and the Occupational Health & Wellness team at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) help employees with substance use disorder who seek treatment build a plan for recovery and see it through. CVPH Helps Workers Overcome Substance Use Disorder Greg Freeman understands too well what a difference compassion makes for people with substance

Grant supports creation of new curriculum for future physicians at Larner College of Medicine In 2013, the pioneering efforts of John Brooklyn, MD, UVM clinical associate professor of family medicine, catapulted Vermont into the spotlight as a national leader in the treatment of opioid use disorder with the state’s launch of the “hub and spoke” model. 

Alice Hyde nurses recount their experience with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Registered Nurse Courtnee Davenport has cared for newborn children and mothers at University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center for a decade. But she can remember her worst brush with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) like it was yesterday. That morning the

The emergency departments of Elizabethtown Community Hospital and its Ticonderoga campus recently began providing free naloxone kits, with the drug used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, to anyone who wants them – no questions asked. David Clauss, MD, medical director of both emergency departments, appreciates more than the kits’ potential to save

It was 2013, and a young man with opioid use disorder was invited to a meeting of senior leaders from the UVM Medical Center, government agencies and community organizations to share his story about the impact of a lack of treatment capacity in Chittenden County. He represented the hundreds of people on waiting lists at

Every Friday afternoon, Noorin Damji and Kristina Valentine, both second-year medical students at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, set off from campus to pick up the well-stocked mobile outreach van owned by a local nonprofit. Together, they drive north to rural communities in Franklin County, Vt., like Swanton, St. Albans and Enosburg

Unused medication collections expand amid addiction and environmental concerns. Imagine tossing a bottle of leftover medication into the empty bed of a heavy-duty pickup truck. Now, imagine a mountain of blister packs, pill bottles and boxes piling up to the point where it weighs more than the truck itself. That’s what has accumulated in less

Catherine Huskisson spent about three years living with severe pain from fibromyalgia and finding few solutions that helped. Huskisson never liked taking medications and wanted to stay away from opioids to treat her pain. So she asked her primary doctor, “What else can you do for me?” Ultimately, the doctor referred Huskisson to the new

Kim Pratt doesn’t believe she’ll ever recover from the heartbreak of losing her 26-year-old son, Tyler Carter, to his decade-long battle with substance use disorder. But she says her “Embrace Hope” initiative helps her move forward by honoring Tyler’s memory while serving others who are affected by the opioid epidemic.   Three months after Tyler’s death

When the state prohibited large group gatherings, agencies and organizations that assist people in recovery from substance use disorder across Vermont pivoted to provide their services remotely. Learn how organizations maintained connections and continued to support people in recovery during these difficult times.

Prescribing regulations for buprenorphine have been relaxed to keep recovery on track during Vermont’s state of emergency and stay-at-home order. Learn how providers are connecting with patients through video visits and phone calls.

Vermont Department of Health launches VTHelplink Referral Resource to help people with substance use disorder access services during the COVID-19 crisis. Learn about VTHelpLink services.