Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mo. Foster Care Flooded With Young Kids Of Parents Addicted To Heroin
The tiny babies typically arrive at Jill Bundschuh鈥檚 foster home in Rock Hill around her family鈥檚 dinner time. Social workers bring them on short notice, with maybe some formula and a few diapers. There are no extra onesies. No swaddling blankets. No car seats. The paperwork is usually sparse beyond a name and maybe a few clues about the baby鈥檚 first few days or weeks of life. Bundschuh knows from experience to quickly read the hospital notes before the caseworker leaves with the file. Even when there is no medical history, this relatively new foster parent knows what to expect in the long night ahead. (Cambria, 2/26)
Hanover County Sheriff David R. Hines said this month that his officers will begin this year carrying a drug that can reverse heroin and painkiller overdoses. The announcement that the Hanover Sheriff鈥檚 Office plans to buy Narcan, a brand of naloxone, came during a speech Hines gave to Hanover鈥檚 Board of Supervisors at a special county budget meeting. (Thompson, 2/26)
More Columbus police officers will be issued naloxone after nearly five dozen heroin users were saved from overdosing during a six-month pilot program. (Burger, 2/27)