Isolation is the cornerstone of addiction. Not surprisingly, addiction is thriving under COVID-19 “Shelter at Home” policies. In Shelby County for the month of April we have seen a jump in opioid overdoses by more than one third and a doubling in opioid overdose deaths compared to approximately the same time period last year. Municipalities… Read More
For Dr. David Stern of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, his interest in proposing a new pilot program to benefit those with mental health and substance use problems comes from a deeply personal as well as professional place.
Addiction experts agree it should be treated as a medical problem rather than a crime. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Medicine Executive Dean David Stern said the director of the center for addiction on campus uses this approach. “He views addiction as a medical problem,” Stern said of Dr. Daniel Sumrok.… Read More
Wendell Taylor hurt his back in the midst of a rough divorce nearly a decade ago. His doctor gave him a prescription for painkillers. Before long, the former West Tennessee concrete business owner needed the opioids to numb his physical and mental pain. But in his recovery, Taylor needed God. “God has led me to get involved… Read More
Paul B. Hill, MD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
“I feel fortunate to be doing this work,” said Dr. [Daniel] Sumrok, who’s also an assistant professor at UTHSC.
