9781422274323

Alison appeared happy to outsiders. On the inside, her marriage was falling apart, and her addiction was destroying her life. “During that time, that was the only thing I looked forward to. That was really the only thing that was good in a day of life for me,” she said. In 2016, nurses at Alison’s hospital began to suspect that she was stealing drugs from the hospital and using them. Alison was caught and immediately lost her job. To keep her medical license, Alison had to complete a ninety- day residential treatment program designed for medical professionals. Then, she would have to complete a five-year follow-up program that included regular meetings with other recovering healthcare professionals along with drug monitoring.

More than 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2018. Most of these deaths involved opioids.

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Treatments for Opioid Addiction