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From the editor: Lives worth living

In our third quarterly issue of Greater Hartford Health, the timing worked out just right for some crossover with our mother publication, the Hartford Business Journal.

In this issue, we're presenting the final two installments of our HBJ series, “Opioids in the Workplace.”

We bring you the stories of two Connecticut men who have turned their lives around after battling opioid addictions.

Matt Eacott and Kelvin Young are two people brave enough to share their experiences publicly. They do so on behalf of those who can't or won't.

There's still a strong stigma tied to addiction. It has the best chance of being broken when decision-makers and others view it for what it is — an illness, rather than a moral failing.

Drug addiction has many impacts on employers, as our series has detailed, but it's first and foremost a human malady.

I think two deeply personal stories are a fitting way to conclude the series.

In our third feature story, we explore the growth of alternative health offerings in hospitals, such as acupuncture and reiki.

Hospitals say the treatments are a safe way to relieve patients' stress and pain, particularly at a time when there is such concern over prescription opioids.

However, alternative health has its detractors, perhaps the most prominent of which is a Yale neurologist who thinks hospitals should steer clear.

There's plenty more to read in this issue. In our executive profile, Walden Behavioral Care's Rebekah Bardwell Doweyko discusses the growth of eating-disorder treatment in Connecticut.

In our Q&A, Dr. Mark Splaine explains the need for a new medical assistant school recently launched by Community Health Center.

And in our expert columns, APRN Danielle Morgan decries the degrading experience of addiction treatment and calls for better insurance coverage, and Connecticut Health Foundation's Patricia Baker breaks down the potentially valuable role “community health workers” can play in the healthcare system.

Thanks for reading,

— Matt Pilon, Health Editor

As alternative medicine treatment options grow, skeptics remain