ORLEANS — The long and frustrating road to the installation of a solar canopy at Nauset Regional Middle School is nearing an end. After two years of delays caused by […]
Health & Healthcare
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER
OCHS Proposes New Addiction Recovery Clinic in Wellfleet
In-person therapy would be added to outpatient addiction program
WELLFLEET — The first clinic in the region to offer intensive in-person counseling to patients battling substance use disorders is currently in the works and would operate in the building […]
HEALTH CARE
State Funding Increases Access to Abortion Pills
Women seeking abortions beyond 10 weeks must still travel off Cape
HYANNIS — A Hyannis clinic and its affiliates are the beneficiaries of a $700,000 state grant that will enable the organization to begin offering abortion pills by July. Health Imperatives, […]
A YEAR UNTREATED
Tragedies Put Lack of Mental Health Care in Spotlight
Political change brings some hope, but the need for crisis care remains acute
Three teenagers who lived on the Lower Cape died by suicide in February. In the fall, Adam Howe, a man with a long history of mental health problems, killed his […]
DRUG MONEY
Big Pharma Suit Yields $621K for Outer Cape
Wellfleet methadone van funded with opioid settlement
WELLFLEET — Money from the settlement of lawsuits against the pharmaceutical industry for its aggressive and deadly marketing of opioids has begun to flow to the towns of the Outer […]
HEALTH CARE
Recovery Access Rolls In to the Outer Cape
A mobile clinic means daily medication-assisted treatment without the 2-hour drive
WELLFLEET — The first-ever mobile methadone clinic on Cape Cod opened its doors here on Nov. 16 after a four-month-long process of getting licensing and approvals from federal and state […]
COURT REPORT
Doctor Sues Cape Cod Hospital
Cardiologist claims he was fired for blowing whistle on poor care
BARNSTABLE — A prominent cardiologist says he was fired by Cape Cod Hospital after reporting his concerns about poorly done heart surgeries and cost-saving practices that compromised patients’ health. Dr. […]
COUNTY LINE
Respiratory Illnesses Threaten Health-Care Systems
Covid, flu, and RSV stress hospital staff
We have become accustomed to living in the Age of Covid. Even blasé about it. For almost three years, we have faced existential threats from potentially every person we come […]
DROP IN
Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Move Downtown
With fentanyl in the drug supply, broader Narcan access is needed to save lives
PROVINCETOWN — On World AIDS Day this Dec. 1, the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (ASGCC) will open a drop-in center at 301 Commercial St. — that is, in […]
HEALTH CARE ACCESS
TestNtreat Gives Top Priority to Sexual Health
Nurse Jeff Schaffer and his team work to topple barriers to treatment
PROVINCETOWN — Jeff Schaffer’s goal is to get rid of the stigma that surrounds sexual health. “Studies have shown that when people aren’t shamed for seeking sexual health services, they […]
BREAST CANCER
Insurance Rules Mean Free Screenings Elude Many Women
A $250K grant may help OCHS purchase 3D imaging equipment
WELLFLEET — Dense breast tissue — which about 50 percent of all women and 40 percent of women over age 40 have, according to the National Cancer Institute — can […]
HEALTH CARE
Mental Health Program May Become a Three-Town Effort
Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet consider a combined program
PROVINCETOWN — The boards of health of Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet will meet jointly in December to hear about the health-care needs of the three towns and to consider a […]
PUBLIC HEALTH
Monkeypox Testing Data: Slow and Incomplete
Progress of outbreak is hard to judge because state won't release the numbers
PROVINCETOWN — For more than two years now, the state Dept. of Public Health (DPH) has been publishing highly detailed information on Covid, including key indicators that help to assess […]
HEALTH CARE
New Mental Health Law Aims to Expand Access to Treatment
Rules apply to insurance companies, which have evaded parity laws for years
PROVINCETOWN — The mental health bill that became state law on Aug. 10 includes a dizzying array of provisions. There are titles that improve mental health access in schools and […]
TREATMENT
Mobile Methadone Clinic Gets Green Light in Wellfleet
One hurdle remains: getting a DEA license to operate
WELLFLEET — The first mobile methadone clinic on Cape Cod won the approval of the Wellfleet Zoning Board of Appeals and could arrive as soon as September at the parking […]
