NATIONAL OPIOID AND SUBSTANCE AWARENESS DAY
September 13, 2022
Noon-3pm EDT
A Holistic Approach to Combatting Substance Use Disorder
A Virtual Event: Town Hall, Online Screening & Referral
Director: Scott Weiner, M.D., M.P.H.
National Opioid and Substance Awareness Day will be kicked off with a virtual town hall event, where participants learned from experts and from those with lived experience about substance misuse, treatment, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were able to take free, anonymous, online screenings for themselves or a loved one. For those who screened positive or still had concerns about substance use, there were referrals to local treatment resources through the SAMHSA Treatment Locator.
National Opioid and Substance Awareness Day is co-hosted by the Brigham Health Program in Opioid and Pain Innovation (POPI) in partnership with the Kennedy Forum, SAMHSA,, Shatterproof and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP).
Chief Medical Officer
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA)
Introduction and Opening Remarks (12:00pm-12:30pm)
SCOTT G. WEINER, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, NOSAD
Director, Brigham B-CORE Program
Executive Director Program in Opioid and Pain Innovation (POPI)
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Honorary Guests
FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE – PATRICK J. KENNEDY
Former Congressman,
Founder of Kennedy Forum
Former Member of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis
Co-Founder of One Mind
NEERAJ GANDOTRA, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA)
TISAMARIE SHERRY, M.D.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation
(Behavioral Health, Disability & Aging Policy) at U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
Special Panel Discussion (12:30-1:30 p.m.)
HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy
GRANT BALDWIN, PHD, MPH
Director, Division of Overdose Prevention
CDC – National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
PRIMARY PREVENTION
MONICA BHAREL, M.D., MPH
Public Health and Health Care Innovator and Strategist/Former Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
HARM REDUCTION
YNGVILD K. OLSEN, M.D., M.P.H.
Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
SAMHSA
EVIDENCE BASED TREATMENT
DONA DMITROVIC, MHS
Senior Advisor for Recovery
SAMHSA
RECOVERY
TOWN HALL SPEAKERS (1:45-2:45 p.m.)
CLAUDIA RODRIGUEZ, M.D.
Medical Director of Outpatient Addiction Services
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital
Assistant Medical Director, Substance Use Disorders Massachusetts General Brigham
Instructor Harvard Medical School
TREATMENT WITH BUPRENORPHINE
*Special Presentation – Person with Lived Experience *
JANICE F. KAUFFMAN RN, MPH, CAS, LADC 1
Vice President, Addiction Treatment Services
North Charles Foundation, Inc.
Director, Addictions Consultation, Cambridge Health Alliance
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School
TREATMENT WITH METHADONE
*Special Presentation – Person with Lived Experience *
SARAH WAKEMAN, M.D.
Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham
Medical Director for the MGH Substance Use Disorder Initiative
Director of the Program for Substance Use and Addiction Services, MGH Division of General Internal Medicine
INEQUALITIES IN SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER, ADDICTION PREVALENCE AND TREATMENT
*Special Presentation – Person with Lived Experience *
How to Screen for Substance Use Disorder, Treatment Resources and Continuing Education (2:45-3pm)
TAYLOR BRYAN TURNER
Assistant Regional Administrator
SAMHSA
TREATMENT RESOURCE (SAMHSA TREATMENT LOCATOR)
GLORIA BRAND, MPA
Director, Program in Opioid and Pain Innovation (POPI)
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
SCREENING INFORMATION (WHO ASSIST)
AAAP – ADDICTIONS AND THEIR TREATMENT COURSE (CEU)
AAAP- ADVANCED ADDICTION PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY (CEU)
What are the goals of National Opioid and Substance Awareness Day?
- To offer free, anonymous, interactive, online screenings for substance misuse and other mental disorders to individuals and/or loved ones.
- To educate community members on the signs, symptoms, facts, and dangers of substance misuse and disorder so the disorder is better recognized, treatment options become more visible, and stigma is reduced.
- To discuss the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on substance misuse and what can be done.
- To give participants and their loved ones a clear picture of whether the behaviors and symptoms that they or their loved ones have been exhibiting may be indicative of substance misuse/disorder. The free, anonymous online screenings provide a quick, simple, and easy way to do this.
- To provide participants an opportunity to learn from persons with lived experience about the steps in the recovery process and understand the impact of the disorder on a family.
- To connect at-risk participants with quality treatment options in their local community through the SAMHSA Treatment Locator.
WHAT WILL THE AWARENESS EVENT OFFER?
- A free town hall with up-to-date information about substance use disorder, hosted and moderated by experts in the field. A link to the webinar will be provided. The Town Hall will be recorded and subsequently available for online viewing.
- An anonymous, free, online screening tool for substance use disorder.
- Those who score positive or are concerned about their loved ones can contact local facilities at FindTreatment.gov for evaluation, treatment, and/or support.
- A variety of educational resources targeted to both clinicians and the general public, which are available throughout this website.
WHY SCREEN?
- According to SAMHSA, 21.6 million people needed substance use treatment in 2019.
- Many individuals who are currently in need of treatment do not receive it. In 2019, only 10.3% of persons diagnosed with a substance use disorder received any treatment for it.
- Substance use disorders and other mental health conditions frequently co-occur. Studies show that about half of those who experience a substance use disorder during their lifetime will also experience another mental illness and vice versa.
- National Opioid and Substance Awareness Day will provide free, anonymous screening for a variety of substance use disorders and related mental health conditions, with connection to available evaluation and treatment resources in one’s own community.
SCREENING TOOL
Our website also includes a tool for screening for suicide risk and other mental health conditions through Mental Health America’s website. Mental Health America is a community-based nonprofit, whose website houses a collection of online, free, and anonymous screening tools to help individuals understand and learn more about their mental health.
Participants can self-administer the screening tools on a computer, tablet, or mobile device in the privacy of their home. All screenings are free and anonymous.
It is recommended that persons who are identified as at-risk either contact the facility where they are currently receiving their healthcare or a facility through SAMHSA’s Treatment Locator (FindTreatment.gov) or SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Online screening with referral will be available on this website prior to, during, and after the event, 24/7.
SCREENINGS ARE EDUCATIONAL: It is important to emphasize that National Opioid and Substance Awareness Day is a public education program and that screenings are informational, not diagnostic. A complete substance use evaluation will be needed after screening to make an actual diagnosis and develop a treatment plan. Furthermore, even if the score on the online screening tool places a person or their loved one in the low-risk range, persons with concerns about substance use or health-related problems should contact their health care provider for a complete evaluation.
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