美国国家公共电台 NPR--How an on-call addiction specialist at a Massachusetts hospital saved a life

How an on-call addiction² specialist at a Massachusetts hospital saved a life

Transcript³

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The U.S. set a disturbing record last year - 107,000 lives lost to drug overdoses. Hospitals often see people at risk who come in to be treated for other conditions, but very few hospitals have someone who specializes in addiction medicine. That, however, may be changing. Here's WBUR's Martha Bebinger.

MARTHA BEBINGER, BYLINE⁴: Just after Christmas last year, Marie opened her eyes one morning and realized she was gasping⁵ for air. She managed to call 911.

MARIE: I woke up. And I, like, couldn't breathe. I, like, thought - I was so scared. I - like, hurry, hurry. Like, you're going to die.

BEBINGER: At Salem Hospital, just north of Boston, the staff treated Marie's chronic⁶ lung disease. We're not including Marie's last name here because she, like about 1 in 9 hospitalized patients, has a history of addiction to drugs or alcohol. So the next day, when a doctor told Marie her oxygen levels looked good, Marie said, wait - there's something else the doctor needed to know.

MARIE: He said I could be released. And I said, I have to tell you something. I'm a heroin⁷ addict¹, and I think I'm starting to be into, like, heavy withdrawal⁸. I literally⁹ can't move. Please don't make me go.

BEBINGER: Most hospitals in Massachusetts and across the country do not have anyone on call trained to treat addiction. So every day, patients like Marie stumble out of a hospital while in painful withdrawal.

LIZ TADIE: They're left on their own to figure it out, which, unfortunately, usually means resuming use because that's the only way to feel better.

BEBINGER: This is Liz Tadie. She helped launch a different approach for Marie and other patients at Salem Hospital. That day, when Marie said please don't make me go, her doctor called Tadie, a nurse practitioner¹⁰ certified¹¹ in addiction medicine. Tadie prescribed buprenorphine, a medication that's helping¹² Marie manage her addiction to opioids. After leaving the hospital, Marie continued to see Tadie for treatment and support.

MARIE: That I wasn't going to be left alone, like, that I wasn't going to have to call a dealer¹³ ever again, like, that I could delete the number. And I want to get back to my life. I just feel, like, grateful.

BEBINGER: Tadie has used success stories like Marie's to unravel¹⁴ decades-old stereotypes¹⁵ about addiction and explain treatment options. That means Tadie, a nurse, is often teaching physicians who get very little addiction training in medical school. They aren't always receptive.

TADIE: Sometimes I would recommend a dose, and somebody would give pushback. I got to know the hospital medicine doctors here, and they, over time, were like, OK, we can trust you.

BEBINGER: When a hospital like Salem recognizes that addiction medicine is a specialty¹⁶, as they do with cardiology or pulmonology, it can change the hospital's culture. Jean Monahan-Doherty is a social worker at Salem.

JEAN MONAHAN-DOHERTY: There was finally some recognition across the entire institution that this was a complex medical disease that needed the attention of a specialist. People are dying. This is a terminal illness, unless it's treated.

BEBINGER: Still, at Salem Hospital, there are often more daily referrals for addiction care than one specialist can handle. And yet now, when overdose deaths have reached a record high, most hospitals are not offering addiction care, says Honora Englander, a national leader in addiction specialty programs.

HONORA ENGLANDER: People with substance use disorder¹⁷ are coming to our hospitals now. We can't wait. We have to do better. And this is the time.

BEBINGER: Englander says federal financial incentives¹⁸ for hospitals would help.

For NPR News, I'm Martha Bebinger in Salem, Mass.

1 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

2 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

6 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

7 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

11 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

14 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

15 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

17 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

18 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法