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College Towns Feel Financial Impact Of Pandemic
ATHENS, Ohio (OVR) — The first day of classes at Ohio University is subdued this year. A few students walk across the Athens, Ohio, campus wearing masks. A group sits, socially… Read More
Surging Coronavirus Cases Threaten To Derail Reopening In Ohio Valley
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (OVR) — At the Community Farmers Market in Bowling Green, Kentucky, vendors and shoppers are adjusting to the new normal during the coronavirus pandemic. That includes wearing face… Read More
Overdose Incidents Rose Sharply Around Ohio Valley During Pandemic
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (OVR) — Emergency response data from across the Ohio Valley show sharp increases in suspected drug overdoses since March, when health measures including school and business closures and stay-at-home… Read More
Reports Show Challenges Remain In Addiction Treatment Medication Access
Center for Disease Control and Prevention data indicate opioid overdose deaths in the Ohio Valley declined in 2018, the first time in nearly a decade. Researchers say this is cause for optimism…. Read More
Innovating Recovery: Group Highlights New Approaches To Addiction Crisis
After years of leading the nation in overdose death rates, Ohio Valley communities are looking for new ways to deal with the addiction crisis. A national nonprofit organization promotes and… Read More
How Should Opioid Lawsuit Money Be Spent? Ohio Valley Has No Shortage Of Needs
At a town hall event in Logan, Ohio, Kelly Taulbee walks through the steps of an encounter with someone experiencing an opioid overdose. She’s training a group to use NARCAN, the… Read More
Born Exposed: Schools Seek To Help Children Exposed To Drugs In The Womb
Students line up single file behind teachers at West Elementary in Athens, Ohio, for. the walk downhill from the brick building to board buses or meet up with the person… Read More
ARC Awards Grant To Help Pave Road To Addiction Recovery
The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded a major grant to what it calls an innovative pilot program for a region hit hard by the addiction crisis. The goal is to… Read More
New Data Show Opioid Deaths May Have Peaked, And Reveal Scale Of Past Pain Pill Sales
Two newly released sets of government data show that the death toll from the nation’s opioid crisis may finally be dropping and also reveal the scale of the pain pill… Read More
New Prescription: Ohio Valley Native Dr. Patrice Harris Is First Black Woman To Lead AMA
Dr. Patrice Harris took the oath in June to become the first African-American woman to serve as president of the powerful American Medical Association, the largest professional association for physicians in the United… Read More
West Virginia Settles Lawsuit With Drug Distributor for $37 Million
A major drug company has agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing it of contributing to the opioid epidemic in one of the Ohio Valley’s hardest hit states. And officials there… Read More
Cannabis Economy: With Medical Marijuana, Ohio’s Meigs County Hopes To Cash In On “Golden” Opportunity
Meigs County, Ohio, has a complicated history with marijuana. “Meigs County Gold” has been grown illegally for years. Local legend has it that was the strain of choice for musicians… Read More
Federal Opioid Strikeforce Indicts More Than A Dozen Ohio Valley Doctors
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday more than a dozen indictments against doctors in the Ohio Valley on charges relating to the illegal distribution of opioids. These are… Read More
ARC Provides Funds For Addiction Treatment Projects In Athens County and Kentucky
The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded more than two million dollars to expand addiction treatment and recovery resources for women in rural regions of the Ohio Valley hit hard by… Read More
As Opioid Crisis Affects A New Generation, Experts Study Long-Term Effects Of Prenatal Exposure
Sue Meeks has worked with children for years as a registered nurse. Meeks manages the family navigator program at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio. Several… Read More
CDC Data Show Ohio Valley Still Has Nation’s Highest Overdose Death Rates
New federal data show the Ohio Valley again led the nation in rates of fatal drug overdoses last year. The data confirm what local officials have reported: Synthetic opioids are… Read More
Ohio Valley Lawmakers Helped Shape Bipartisan Bill On Opioid Crisis
A year after President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, he signed a bipartisan bill Wednesday to bolster law enforcement efforts and expand addiction treatment and… Read More
The Doctor And The Epidemic: Three Years At Ground Zero Of The Opioid Crisis
When Dr. Rahul Gupta started work as West Virginia’s chief health officer his state was already ground zero for the opioid epidemic, with some of the nation’s highest rates of… Read More
New Ohio Data Show Sharp Increase In Overdose Deaths From The Opioid Fentanyl
New official state data from the Ohio Department of Health show 4,854 people died of drug overdoses in 2017, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. The new data add to… Read More
Surgeon General Says Opioid Crisis Requires Fight Against Stigma
In a comprehensive new report on the opioid crisis, the U.S. surgeon general writes that stigma remains a major barrier to treatment and urges a more supportive approach to those… Read More
Senate Opioids Bill Takes Aim At Fentanyl Imports
The U.S. Senate has approved a bipartisan package to address the nation’s opioid crisis with more resources for addiction treatment and recovery and an emphasis on stopping the flow of… Read More
The New DARE: Schools Aim To Stop Next Generation Of Opioid Crisis
New data from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show a rare bright spot amid the opioid crisis. Fewer high schoolers in the region appear to be… Read More
Rural Risk: Mobile Clinics Help Tackle Multifaceted Opioid Crisis
In a room at the Letcher County Health Department in Whitesburg, Kentucky, about 20 people are learning how to use naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication. Among them is 18-year-old… Read More
Your Voice Ohio Collaborative Seeking Solutions To Opioid Crisis
An Ohio-based collaborative thinks journalists can play a bigger role in solving the region’s opioid crisis. The effort starts with listening to people in some of the hardest-hit communities. A… Read More
Back To The Garden: How Green Thumbs Help With Addiction Recovery
Meredith Jensen is doing some gardening on a sunny day in a secluded part of Athens, Ohio. “I’m working on our pollinator garden beds,” she said. “Which are a bunch… Read More