Latest news with #REACHProgram
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cone Health program helps moms with substance abuse issues
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — You may never hear a story quite as sad as Breanna's. When she was just a child, her mother had a series of cancers. 'Breast cancer – had a full hysterectomy done, cervical cancer. It was just back-to-back,' says Breanna. 'My dad got hurt at work, a bunch of discs in his neck were bulging. They got him pain pills and I did too, I guess, being around it. It just turned into a disaster. Both of my brothers, they're still using.' She was addicted to opioids at, 'About 13-years-old.' Heroin? 'Within a year, about 14-years-old,' she says. But Breanna's story – unlike most – has a happy ending. She recently delivered her third child, a boy, and did so with both herself and her son, healthy and drug free. Breanna credits a counseling program and Cone Health's REACH Program, which helps women through the stress of both the pregnancy and the first year of motherhood. 'That is the most unique portion of our program is that neonatal medicine is involved from the very beginning, we're not an afterthought, we don't come sweeping in when there's a problem, we're part of the resolution ahead of time,' says Nurse Practitioner Katie Krist who was one of those who work with Breanna. Dr. Mateo Eckstat runs the clinic which typically has 8 to 12 women in it at any given time. 'That is one of the big reasons why I put this clinic together and do the work I do is that I am terrified that one of my patients will overdose and die,' says Dr. Eckstat. 'I am terrified that one of the babies that I deliver is not going to have a mom or that someone's not going to have their sister or their cousin or their daughter.' He seconds the idea that it is the connection developed over nearly 2 years that is key to its success. 'So the people who take care of the babies and can tell these moms and guide them through that postpartum period, they develop a relationship before the baby is even born,' Dr. Eckstat says. Not only is Breanna no longer using drugs but she has a supportive partner in her life in the baby's father. Being able to raise a child with both parents involved is as big an issue as there is when it comes to keeping these women from relapsing. 'It has been my experience that if you have a healthy mom who has a stable life, then the kid will be just fine,' says Dr. Eckstat. Breanna is in school to become a social worker herself and says she couldn't have done it without the help of the REACH program. If you want to set up a confidential appointment, you can do it on Cone Health's REACH website. Link: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
08-04-2025
- CBS News
Mock crash at Mars Area High School shows the perils of driving under the influence ahead of prom season
The Mars Area High School's REACH Program teamed up with local emergency responders for a mock crash in the school auditorium parking lot as part of the "Prom Promise" campaign this week. For a lot of students who witnessed the mock crash, they said it truly hit home. The goal was to show students the life-altering and even deadly consequences of drinking and then getting behind the wheel of a car and onto a busy highway. "I have two vehicles blocking the roadway, one ejection, two patients inside," the mock crash first responders' radio sounded during the event. The voice of a 911 dispatcher, emergency sirens, flashing lights, and people screaming were all sights and sounds that one would expect to hear at a real emergency. While emotional, this was designed to resemble a real car crash in every aspect to demonstrate the serious consequences of driving under the influence. "The message is for it to hit home," said Pennsylvania State Trooper Melinda Bondarenka. "Again, be the most realistic way to show them what can happen in a crash. It's unfortunate, yes, and some of the outcomes are not always good." The scene was a grisly one as students covered in fake blood, suffering from serious injuries, acted out the aftermath of a head-on collision on prom night. Dominic Spranza, a senior, portrayed the drunk driver who caused the crash. He was given a field sobriety test by an Adams Township police officer before being placed into handcuffs. "What if something like that happens and I wake up and the person next to me isn't conscious," he said. "I just wouldn't want that to happen to my family." Another student actor lay as though she had been partially ejected from the car with the upper half of her body on the hood of the car. Fire department personnel moved her from the car to a gurney before loading her into a waiting ambulance. "I can't imagine my family getting a call, god forbid that I was in a crash, and I just wouldn't want that to happen to my family," said Ella Roach. "I will try to eliminate the distractions as much as possible and drive safely." Students then moved into the auditorium for the KDKA-TV Ford Driving Skills For Life program. More than 500 junior and senior students, many of whom are new drivers, learned key driving skills to help keep them safe while on the roadway. They were joined by a panel of experts who discussed the dangers of distracted and impaired driving, as well as the consequences that follow. "Even if we affect just one student or a pocket of students, it's important for them to understand the potential consequences," said Shawn Babka of the REACH Program.
