A Week In The Lives Of Those Fighting Opioid Addiction
Ventura County Star journalists spent a week documenting how the opioid crisis is actually affecting Californians.
Ventura County Star:
Ventura County's Opioid Crisis: 'I Crave It All The Time"
As it has across the country, the epidemic spurs the call for more treatment, public health alerts about heroin laced with a potent opioid that dramatically increases the risk of overdose and horror stories told by middle-class parents who lost children to addiction. Ventura County Star journalists Tom Kisken and Anthony Plascencia spent a week documenting the impact of opioids in an attempt to measure the pulse of the epidemic. They camped in a treatment center, an ambulance station, a high school library, an emergency room, a courtroom and a waiting room outside a Ventura County jail. (Kisken, 11/1)
In other public health news —
Sacramento Bee:
Premature Birth Rates On The Rise In California, Study Shows
Premature birth is the leading cause of infant death, and preterm birth rates are on the rise in California, reflecting a nationwide trend, according to the 2017 Premature Birth Report Card released Wednesday by March of Dimes, a foundation focused on preventing birth defects and infant mortality. In 2016, California’s preterm birth rate was 8.6 percent, an increase from 2015 and a six-year high. (Sullivan, 11/1)
KPCC:
Why LA County Wants To Expand Involuntary Psych Holds For Some Homeless
Los Angeles County is preparing to ask the state legislature to expand the legal definition of "grave disability" to give officials more power to put certain homeless individuals on involuntary psychiatric holds. The move, which takes the county into uncertain ethical territory, is motivated by a desire to provide crucial medical help to those with mental health issues who refuse to get the care they need. (Garrova, 11/1)
Capital Public Radio:
Dentists Want Your Halloween Candy
About a dozen dental offices in the greater Sacramento area are collecting Halloween candy for the next two weeks. ...It’s a two-fold project: the dentists are steering kids away from tooth-ruining taffies and chocolates, but they’re also teaching them a lesson in giving. All of the candy gets sent to military service members and first responders. (Caiola, 11/1)