The opioid crisis — now one of the leading causes of maternal mortality — continues to rage in Tennessee.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has long recognized the increasing toll the crisis has on pregnant and postpartum women and their infants.

“There is a critical need to address access to care and provide comprehensive public health solutions for pregnant women and infants affected by the opioid crisis,” said Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, executive director of Firefly and a neonatologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

“The stakes are high. For yea...