opioids Archive — Page 1 of 7

June 5, 2026

A first aid kit from Firefly Program for every new mother — with naloxone inside

The Tennessee Department of Health, through the Opioid Abatement Council Community Grant program, recently awarded $1.2M to The Naloxone Project, a nonprofit dedicated to patient-centric care for individuals with opioid use disorder.

pregnant belly
April 10, 2026

Weekly buprenorphine injection proves more effective for pregnant women with opioid use disorder

Vanderbilt Health’s Firefly program continues to lead the way in caring for pregnant women with substance use disorder.

(AdobeStock)
September 16, 2025

Forgotten opioid has resurfaced as lethal street drug

Originally developed in the 1950s but never approved for clinical use, these substances are over 20 times more potent than fentanyl and hundreds to thousands of times more potent than morphine.

September 10, 2025

Study reveals new evidence, cost savings for common treatments for opioid use disorder in mothers and infants

Researchers found that while established medications for opioid use disorder in mothers are both superior and cost saving compared to alternative treatment pathways, buprenorphine produced the greatest health gains and cost savings for mothers and infants.

April 21, 2025

Neurodevelopmental care initiative supports infants and young children exposed to opioids in utero

SHINE program offers neurodevelopmental care embedded within a medical home for infants and young children with neonatal opioid exposures.

March 5, 2025

Team finds a better way to identify newborns at risk for opioid withdrawal

By 2017, on the back of the opioid crisis, the rate of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome in the U.S. was estimated to have reached 7.3 per 1000 deliveries. Meanwhile, many newborns exposed to opioids in utero never develop the syndrome and must undergo needless monitoring in the hospital after birth.