EDITORIAL: Baby's first jones: Expansion of local program helping opioid-addicted moms, newborns is a big step

March 22--T he president, who makes a splash wherever he goes and whatever he says -- especially, it seems, if he does so by tweet -- did so this week in the Granite State, where he arrived to talk about drug abuse. President Trump, who famously called New Hampshire "a drug-infested den" in a phone call with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto a year ago, arrived in the state Monday, and called for the use of the death penalty for drug dealers, in some cases.

That became the story of the day, though it's just part of his administration's opioids plan. That plan includes funding educational campaigns, promoting non-opioid medical treatments and, of course, building a wall on the border with Mexico. At least he's not insisting the drug dealers will pay for it.

Trump's visit to the state, and his attention to the opioid crisis, was welcome news. The state's congressional delegation has been stumping for more resources to combat the crisis for several years now, and while it remains unclear whether any -- or how much -- more money will be coming from Washington for that purpose, everything helps.

In the meantime, those in the state continue to address the issue with the resources they have. And rather than looking for whose lives to take, they're focusing on how many they can save.

The Dartmouth-Hitchcock system, of which Cheshire Medical Center in Keene is an affiliate, announced Wednesday it's teaming with the March of Dimes to produce "an online toolkit to help maternal child health providers keep women with histories of substance use and their babies healthy."

The toolkit offers health providers information on best practices and resources, and is funded partly through a $2.7 million federal grant through the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services. The toolkit's information builds on work gleaned through the network's integrated Medication Assisted Treatment program, much of which debuted at Cheshire Medical.

The Keene hospital has been a leader in addressing opioid abuse and addiction in maternity cases. Two years ago, it implemented a Mothers in Recovery program, which offers opioid abuse treatment alongside traditional maternity care.

It was prompted by the rising incidence of opioid addiction among pregnant women, and the subsequent opioid withdrawal suffered by their newborn children. In 2017, 25 babies exposed to opioids in utero were born at Cheshire Medical Center, representing about 6.5 percent of all deliveries, said Autumn Vergo, section chief of obstetrics.

With both mothers and babies at risk, hospitals all over the state and beyond have been trying to find ways of coping with the dynamic.

And Cheshire's program has become, in part, a model for that. Last month, Dartmouth-Hitchcock announced funding to expand Mothers in Recovery here, good news for local women and, perhaps, a step toward getting past the crisis.

Among other things, the expansion will include establishing a place where kids can stay for a couple of hours while their mothers receive treatment, and case management to connect women to other resources.

Earlier this month, Amelie Gooding of the Phoenix House Keene Center told The Sentinel a key will be getting the word out on Mothers in Recovery, so women who need such a program will be aware of it.

If only the president would tweet about it.

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