Today on Midday, guest host and WYPR health reporter Scott Maucione explores the effect of opioids on older adults.
As Americans age, so does the opioid epidemic.
A 2022 investigation by scientists at Northwestern University found overdose deaths from opioids among those 55 and older soared ten-fold from 1999 to 2019.
Tradeoffs, a non-profit news organization focused on healthcare, has reported on the challenges clinics face when treating older adults who've become dependent on opioids.
But it found one clinic here in Baltimore — run by REACH Health Services — whose treatment model seems to be working.
Tradeoffs' founder and executive editor, Dan Gorenstein, joins Scott on Zoom to describe the epidemic of opioid use disorder among seniors, and the holistic approach REACH takes to treatment.
Then, we get a closer look at the REACH program from its medical director, Dr. Malik Burnett.
