WELLFLEET — In the 1960s, psychedelics were part of the American counterculture, banned because of their mind-altering power. In 2023, they’re the subject of a pending bill in the Massachusetts […]
Health & Healthcare
HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE
State Health Officials Get an Earful on Cape’s Needs
Unsurprisingly, housing is the number one issue
PROVINCETOWN — The regional housing crisis is also a health-care crisis. At a June 30 roundtable with top state health officials, social service providers from the Outer, Lower, and Mid-Cape […]
HEALTH CARE
Towns Get Money for a Mental Health Clinician and a Nurse
$381K ARPA grant will also fund ‘asset mapping’ and monthly wellness clinics
A collaborative project among the four Outer Cape health depts. going by the name of “OC Wellness” has won $381,375 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from Barnstable County. […]
PUBLIC HEALTH
Cases Are Few, but Monkeypox Is Still on the Radar
AIDS Support Group is running vaccine clinics through the summer
PROVINCETOWN — The virus that roared through the gay community on both sides of the Atlantic last summer subsided almost as quickly as it arrived. Mpox — formerly known as […]
YOUNG LIVES
Local Teens Speak for Themselves About Suicide
A forum on suicide and prevention reveals strategies and struggles
Two teenagers discussed their paths out of life-threatening depression at a March 28 online forum on youth suicide prevention organized by the League of Women Voters. Sophia Ryan, a senior […]
MENTAL HEALTH CARE
With Help Elusive, Two Men Live Crisis to Crisis
Their mothers pursue intervention before something catastrophic happens
In the constant pursuit of help for their sons, Bonnie Nuendel of Eastham and Meegan Erving of Wellfleet have honed their stories into elevator pitches to perform for therapists, the […]
GREEN ENERGY
Solar Power Will Come to Nauset Middle School at Last
Contractor did a ‘screw job’ on the district, says Easley
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 […]
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 […]
