Page 11 - Healthcare News Nov/Dec 2022

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MiraVista provides expert, patient-focused psychiatric and substance use recovery treatment through a wide range of inpatient and outpatient programs.
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ADDICTION CONT’D
definitely seen a rise in overdose rates during the pandemic,” said Dr. Katie Krauskopf, medical director of Substance Use Disorder Services at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center in Holyoke. “It looks like Massachu- setts’ trend is better than nationally, and there is some indication that 2022 might be better than 2021. But we clearly saw people struggling dur- ing the pandemic, and a lot of that probably had to do with difficulty accessing care and the isolation that came along with it.”
In her experience, the pandemic impacted two groups differently: many of those with substance-use disorder who were already in treat- ment programs did better during the pandemic because the social restric- tions helped them avoid some of the
triggers they might normally have encountered more frequently. Meanwhile, regulatory changes around access to treatment allowed patients to take home medications they could not previously.
“So patients in treatment have done quite well,” she went on. “The real issue was the patients who were not already engaged in treatment and were unable to do so.”
The DPH found clear evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on mental health
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and led to increased substance use and poorer mental health across the Commonwealth, especially among BIPOC communities and LGBTQ+ individuals.
“We continue to be relentless in our commit- ment to increase access to harm-reduction services, low-threshold housing, and treatment,” Health and
René Piñero and Christine Palmieri say addiction recovery often entails social supports like stable housing.
Health. Drug-overdose deaths in Massachusetts con- tinue to trend lower than nationwide figures, but the statistics are still startling, with the rise in death rates reflecting the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasingly poisoned drug supply, primarily with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. “Massachusetts and the rest of the country have
It looks like Massachusetts’ trend is
better than nationally, and there is some indication that 2022 might be better than 2021. But we clearly
saw people struggling during the pandemic, and a lot of that probably had to do with difficulty accessing care and the isolation that came along with it.”