Program to help babies, moms with addictions

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Ohio plans to start a program to help babies who are born addicted to drugs, as officials look to address prescription-drug abuse and opiate addiction.

About 200 mothers and babies who are addicted to painkillers and heroin would get treatment and counseling under the $4.2 million, three-year pilot program, Gov. John Kasich’s administration announced Thursday.

Ohio has launched efforts in recent years to crack down on illegal prescription- painkiller use and distribution, including changing guidelines for emergency- room doctors and closing clinics where doctors were improperly prescribing drugs.

Overdose drug deaths have surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio and several other states.

Ohio has seen a spike in the number of drug-addicted babies, state data show. In 2011, Ohio had 88 cases per 10,000 live births. That’s more than six times the rate in 2004, which was 14 per 10,000 live births.

The latest program is expected to curb the costs of specialized care for the newborns by helping the mothers get drug treatment and cutting down on the babies’ length of stays in the intensive-care unit.