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Montgomery County receives first payments from nationwide opioid settlements
Read full article: Montgomery County receives first payments from nationwide opioid settlementsVirginia and its localities are expected to receive approximately $530 million over a period of 16 years in the settlements with three drug distributors McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Corp., and Cardinal Health, and a prescription opioid manufacturer, Janssen Pharmaceutical, according to Attorney General Miyares.
Virginia’s Attorney General meets with Roanoke healthcare leaders to address opioid epidemic
Read full article: Virginia’s Attorney General meets with Roanoke healthcare leaders to address opioid epidemicAttorney General Miyares met with leaders at Carilion to talk about the ways they’re treating patients suffering from substance abuse.
Learn how to administer Narcan, used to reverse opioid overdoses, for free in Rockbridge County
Read full article: Learn how to administer Narcan, used to reverse opioid overdoses, for free in Rockbridge CountyROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. – Before the pandemic, the opioid crisis was a major issue that united so many across the country in the fight to end it. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fatal drug overdoses surged 20% during the pandemic, killing more than 83,000. “Sometimes it comes in waves,” said Rockbridge County Deputy Christopher Wade. He was the first person in the county to use Narcan, the life-saving medication that reverses opioid overdoses. The training is called ‘Revive!’ It is a 1.5-hour course that covers understanding opioids, how opioid overdoses happen, risk factors for opioid overdoses and how to respond to an opioid overdose emergency with the administration of Naloxone.
Danville police report three fatal heroin-related overdoses in the past week
Read full article: Danville police report three fatal heroin-related overdoses in the past weekDANVILLE, Va. – In an effort to address opioid addiction in the city, the Danville Police Department has tracked down and reported 50 suspected heroin-related overdose cases from late 2019 to Friday. In that time frame, authorities reported a total of 44 non-fatal heroin-related overdoses and a total of six suspected fatal heroin-related overdoses. However, three of those six deaths that police believe was a result of heroin use happened over the past week. Back in May 2020, the police department issued Naloxone to officers, which is a medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. Anyone suffering from addiction and seeking assistance can ask help from Danville police or contact Danville-Pittsylvania Community Services 24 hours a day at 434-793-4922.
Roanoke organization unveils three-year plan to counter opioid addiction
Read full article: Roanoke organization unveils three-year plan to counter opioid addictionROANOKE, Va. The effort to stop opioid abuse and addiction in the Roanoke Valley just became more organized. Roanoke Valley Collective Response released its three-year blueprint to rehabilitate addicts and prevent others from falling victim to drugs. They say it takes a group effort to counter a subject as serious as opioids. According to the group, 300 people in the Roanoke Valley died of a drug overdose between 2015 and 2018. You can read the groups blueprint against addiction at this link.