Spokane nursery is helping youngest victims of fentanyl crisis

Mothers who use fentanyl, meth or other substances during their pregnancies can give birth to babies who have to spend weeks in the hospital to treat their exposure to and withdrawal from drugs. After their release, caregivers can still struggle to soothe and feed them. Tricia Hughes, a registered nurse in Spokane, discovered this when she and her husband began fostering babies born dependent on heroin and other substances two decades ago. That experience inspired a 15-year-long quest to create Maddie’s Place, a nursery that provides around-the-clock care for drug-exposed babies. It opened in Spokane in October 2022, and is one of only a handful of such facilities in the nation that allows a parent in recovery to stay with their baby while receiving support services to care for themselves and their child. Hughes is the founder and clinical director of Maddie’s Place. She joins us, along with Mary Potter, a mother in recovery who has been staying at Maddie’s Place with her nearly five-month-old son. They share with us how the center is helping some of the youngest victims of the fentanyl crisis.