Pain from working in the mines, not layoffs, led to opioid addiction, researchers say. The assumption has long been that people turn to drugs when they lose their jobs. In coal mining areas in Appalachia, where the opioid epidemic began, the storyline has been that as mining jobs disappear, opioid […]
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The Veterans Administration is still on shaky ground with medical appointment wait times. Officials say new telehealth facilities will help improve veterans’ access to healthcare. First came VFW posts. Now the Veterans Administration is adding telehealth facilities at selected Walmarts. The VA cut the ribbon on an appointment space in […]
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This article was originally published by Ohio Valley ReSource. 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 partners with programs that do just that. The Addiction Policy Forum […]
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While the current conversation surrounding drug use is dominated by opioids, residents in North Carolina’s Appalachians say meth has always been there. Jesse-Lee Dunlap goes where not even the mail carrier does. The Haywood County resident, who works with the N.C. Harm Reduction Coalition, routinely navigates into dirt pathways so […]
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Living in rural America certainly comes with a number of benefits. There is less crime, access to the outdoors, and lower costs of living. Yet, not everything is rosy outside the city limits. Rural communities face growing infrastructure problems like decaying water systems. And they have more limited access to […]
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This article was originally published by Ohio Valley ReSource. Appalachian surface coal miners are consistently overexposed to toxic silica dust, according to new research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and surface mine dust contains more silica than does dust in underground coal mines. The research is the […]
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