Gathering to reflect Tuesday on how far Massachusetts has come in its fight against opioids, the incoming and outgoing governors also looked ahead to what more must be done.
A month after Gov. Charlie Baker took office in 2015, he launched a task force to develop a statewide strategy to tackle opioid addiction. Almost eight years later, Baker and members of that task force — including Attorney General and Gov.-elect Maura Healey — said Massachusetts has made notable strides in supporting recovery and reducing stigma of substance use disoder, but the state still has more to do.
That work has taken on a new dynamic since COVID-19 struck, Baker said at an event at A New Way Recovery Center in Quincy.
State Department of Public Health data shows a dramatic climb in opioid overdose deaths from 2000, when 375 were recorded, to 2016, when 2,110 Massachusetts residents died of opioid overdoses. Since 2016, that number declined slightly, but it began to tick back up amid the pandemic, and hit a new high in 2021. Last year, the department logged 2,234 confirmed opioid overdose deaths and estimated another 42 to 71 would be added to that tally once all cases were finalized.
“This is obviously one of the most difficult issues that was exacerbated by the pandemic, and I think the loss of physical presence, more than almost everything else, and the isolation that came with the pandemic was an incredible blow to the progress and the momentum that we had developed here in Massachusetts before the pandemic,” Baker said. “But I will say this: While everybody’s numbers look worse than they did before the pandemic, ours look dramatically better than they look in many other parts of the country.”
In the nearly eight years they’ve both been in office, Baker and Healey have taken a number of steps aimed at addressing the opioid crisis:
- Baker signed a 2016 law that imposed the country’s first seven-day limit on new opioid prescriptions for adults.
- Two years later, Baker signed another law expanding access to medication-assisted treatment and the overdose reversal drug naloxone.
- Healey filed the first lawsuit by any state against the Sackler family, who controlled OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma.
- Healey’s office this month announced two nationwide settlements resolving allegations major companies had contributed to the opioid crisis: one with Walmart, and another with manufacturers Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan.
Mark E., a member of A New Way Recovery Center who joined Baker and other officials for a roundtable discussion on Tuesday, said when he began his journey to recovery 10 years ago, available services were very different.
“One of the worst things about addiction is the isolation and stigma and shame,” he said. “You couldn’t even talk about it. Coming here, it’s so nonjudgmental, you can talk about it openly. Really, really, that’s a huge part of the healing process.”
Pam Cole, who works at the recovery center and introduced herself as the mom of a son “who struggles terribly,” said she once found it hard to admit that her son has an addiction but is no longer ashamed to speak about it in front of others. She said support groups and open discussion are key for parents, who also need to find ways to take care of themselves.
“This disease is terrible, and it wants to kill all of us,” Cole said. “It even wants to kill the family members. We become just as broken as our loved ones, in different ways.”
A New Way Recovery Center is hosted by Bay State Community Services, which receives funding from the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. Bay State Community Services president and CEO Daurice Cox says her organization strives to create a welcoming place, with a yoga room, art room and peer participation. There’s also a young adult recovery support area, she said.
“That’s the only one in the state that specifically is for young adults,” Cox said. “They need some place safe. They need some place that they’re understood and supported.”
Baker said a focus on younger adults should be a part of the state’s next steps in fighting addiction.
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“I also think we’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years trying to push more money into both mental health issues and substance abuse disorder issues, and we’ve had some success, but it’s pretty clear that that’s going to have to be a focus for the next Legislature and the next administration,” he said. “And it’s going to have to be built around this idea that not only do we need more beds, but we also need to deal with many of the staffing issues we face, and I think the staffing issue in part is going to be one of the biggest challenges moving forward.”
As Healey prepares to take office in January, she also has staffing on her mind. She said she and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Driscoll plan to focus on the workforce shortage in health care, mental health and substance addiction services, as well as on the need for more housing both generally and for vulnerable populations.
Healey said she and Baker have “worked really in partnership from Day 1” to address the opioid crisis, driven by the stories they’ve heard from families and individuals grappling with addiction.
“That commitment continues,” she said. “Obviously, the need continues, but that commitment also will continue with this new administration.”
