WNYT NewsChannel 13: Health Beat: Vaping

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The Times Union published a new story as part of its continuing coverage on the growing opioid epidemic in the Capital Region. Dr. Melissa Weimer, Chief of Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine at St. Peter’s Hospital, was interviewed as part of the story: The newest medical approach may be at St. Peter’s Health Partners, where drug users addicted to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids can now walk into outpatient locations in Albany, Troy and Cohoes or emergency departments at Samaritan, Albany Memorial and St. Peter’s hospitals and promptly be evaluated to get buprenorphine to help them through withdrawal, or more intense detox services if needed. The program has served more than 300 people since it opened last September. “When the person feels, I am able to change in this moment, we are ready to treat them in this moment,” said Dr. Melissa Weimer, medical director of the SPHP Addiction Recovery Center. “We’re trying to make it so there’s no closed door.” To view the article, which also includes a video of Dr. Weimer discussing the […]

Spectrum News interviewed Judy Rightmyer, director of Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities for its story on the “It’s Not Just” campaign. The statewide initiative urges action against the marketing of menthol cigarettes.