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New national three-digit hotline for those experiencing mental health crisis launches

An employee at UPMC's Resolve Crisis Center answers calls, including those from the new 988 hotline.
Courtesy of UPMC
An employee at UPMC's Resolve Crisis Center answers calls, including those from the new 988 hotline.

On today’s episode of The Confluence:

Allegheny County has sued chain pharmacies for not doing enough to curb the opioid epidemic
(0:00 - 9:17)

Earlier this month, Allegheny County filed a lawsuit against major pharmacies Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS. The suit alleges the pharmacies “oversupplied opioids in Allegheny County.” This is the latest in a series of lawsuits against the makers of the legal opioids, the distributors and now the retailers.

Michael Flaherty, clinical psychologist and head of St. Francis' Institute for Psychiatry and Addiction Services in Pittsburgh, says solving the crisis is “fundamentally a crisis of will. These great ideas and dollars are being applied to an international problem that we haven't fully understood all the dynamics of, most notably at the core, the power of addiction itself.”

Flaherty says solving the crisis will most effectively come from local, community-based solutions.

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Start your morning with today's news on Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania.

Local call center for mental health has already seen rise in calls after the new, shortened hotline number has gone public
(9:22 - 17:37 )

A new three digit number launched nationwide on Saturday: the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is the new, easier to remember, hotline for those in crisis. Jack Rozel, the medical director of Resolve Crisis Services of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, says the region’s call center has already seen an uptick in calls.

“The rough estimates were that we'd see a doubling in Lifeline call volume over the first year, that we might see a five fold increase over the first five years,” says Rozel. “I can tell you over the first weekend, actually, our volumes for Lifeline doubled. However, we were ready for it.”

Rozel says although crisis emergency and mental health services have been affected by “the Great Resignation,” Resolve is also training more staff than ever before.

How did the Pittsburgh Pirates get their name?
(17:40 - 22:30)

From racing pierogies to spectacular skyline views, Pittsburgh Pirates games are staples for many city residents. For our Good Question series, 90.5 WESA’s Katie Blackley tackles a bunch of questions about the Pirates. Leading off? How the team got its marauding moniker.

Check out more stories, submit a question of your own, and subscribe to the Good Question! podcast on our website.

The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.

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