Massachusetts Opioid Screening and Awareness Day |  September 22, 2020
Fighting Opioid Misuse in collaboration with the Brigham B-CORE program

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ABOUT FIGHTING OPIOID MISUSE

Our Mission

  • Educate the public to recognize opioid misuse, particularly its dangers and its relationship to suicide risk.
  • Learn about current evidence-based treatments and the life-saving use of naloxone (Narcan).
  • Provide free, anonymous, online screenings for opioid disorder and suicide risk.
  • Connect those who are concerned about opioid misuse in themselves or others with treatment resources and emergency services.
  • Publicize educational resources for individuals, families, and healthcare professionals.
  • Regularly update the website with the most recent information and research findings regarding the opioid epidemic.

Massachusetts Opioid Screening and Awareness Day

September 22, 2020

Massachusetts Opioid Screening and Awareness Day will be kicked off with a virtual town hall event, where participants will learn from experts about opioid misuse and treatment, and will be able to take a free, anonymous, online screening for opioid misuse/disorder for themselves or a loved one. For those who screen positive or still have concerns about opioid use, there will be referrals to local treatment resources. Massachusetts Opioid Screening and Awareness Day is a collaboration between Fighting Opioid Misuse and the Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education (B-CORE) Program. Click here to learn more.

Massachusetts Opioid Screening and Awareness Day is a free event!  For members of the public, there is no need to register. Online screening, referral, and other resources will be available free on this website prior to, during, and after the event, 24/7.

Hospitals, community mental health centers, and opioid treatment facilities are invited to be Host Sites. Host Sites will promote the day and provide contact information for members of their health care community to follow up with an evaluation if needed post-screening. If you would like to be a host site, please fill out this registration form. There is no fee to register as a host site. Host sites can access additional information for Host Sites and a virtual screening day manual here.

Leadership

Douglas Jacobs, M.D.
Co-Director, Massachusetts Opioid Screening & Awareness Day
Medical Director and Founder, Fighting Opioid Misuse

Dr. Jacobs has been on the Harvard faculty for over 40 years and is a recognized expert in suicide assessment and intervention. In the early 90s, he initiated the concept of large-scale mental health screening for mental disorders. He has combined both of these professional interests to address the current epidemic involving opioid disorders, thus combining screening for opioid disorder and suicide risk. He is the founder of Fighting Opioid Misuse.

Scott Weiner, M.D., M.P.H.
Co-Director, Massachusetts Opioid Screening & Awareness Day
Director, Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education (B-Core) Program

Dr. Weiner is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He is also an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Director of the Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education (B-CORE) Program, a health system-wide stewardship program dedicated to reducing opioid-related morbidity and mortality.

Marci Klein Benheim, Ph.D.
Research Director

Dr. Klein Benheim is a psychologist and researcher in Fairfax, Virginia. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. She has collaborated with Dr. Jacobs for over 30 years on research on a variety of psychiatric topics, including suicide, depression, and addiction.

Advisors

Edwin Boudreaux, Ph.D.

Dr. Boudreaux is Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Boudreaux is a clinical psychologist with a subspecialty in the treatment of substance use disorders. He has experience integrating substance abuse identification and management across a variety of medical settings, including emergency departments, inpatient settings, and outpatient settings. He has served on expert consensus panels for national organizations, including NIMH, NIDA, and SAMHSA. As a leading innovator in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for substance use disorders, he has designed and evaluated traditional and technology-facilitated interventions for alcohol and illicit drug abuse.

Janice F. Kaufman, R.N., M.P.H., C.A.S., LADC1

Ms. Kaufman is Vice President, Addiction Treatment Services for North Charles Foundation, Inc, Director of Addictions Consultation for the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She has worked with persons who have addictive disorders for over 45 years in direct treatment, program development and management, and national policy initiatives. She is the First Vice President of the Board of Directors for the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD).

Administrative Partner

North Charles, Inc. provides services to people at a point in their lives when they need it most, and empowers those same people to regain control over their own lives and reenter the community as productive and fully realized citizens. North Charles, a 501(C) (3), was founded in 1971 as an independent nonprofit partner in the Department of Psychiatry at the Cambridge City Hospital. Donations to National Opioid Screening Day can be made to this nonprofit.

Donate

North Charles, Inc. – 54 Washburn Ave. Cambridge, MA. 02140
Attn. Donations- FOM | tax ID # — 23-7157222