In November 2018, I spoke with Bob Coates, the founder and CEO of SyMedica, a health care consulting company. At the time, he was also working in Washington, D.C., as the health care consultant for a lobbying firm, and he had been following the federal opioid bill closely as it moved through Congress.
In June 2018, I spoke with John Patrick Hart, who goes by Pat, a retired father from Maryland. Two of his four sons developed problems with drugs and alcohol. His older son died after many years of use, and his youngest went from detox to a long stay in recovery in West Palm Beach.
In June 2018, I spoke with David Hecht, a writer on spirituality who has been in recovery for more than three decades through a 12-step fellowship. At the time, much of my practice had become care for people with opioid use disorder, and I wanted to hear how he would talk to someone who was just starting out.
In May 2018, I spoke with Orlando Castro, the program director of an inpatient adolescent unit at a hospital in South Miami. His unit cares for young people aged 12 to 17 in crisis.