Recovery Month 2021

What: Envisioning person-centered care for people who use drugs: Lessons from medical practice, lived experience, and drug user organizing 

When: September 9 from 12:00 pm–1:00 pm

Who:

• Dinah Applewhite, MD. Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. Director of Harm Reduction, Substance Use Disorder Initiative
• Caty Simon, founding co-organizer of Whose Corner Is It Anyway, a Western MA group by and for housing insecure, stimulant and/or opioid using low-income sex workers; leadership team member of Urban Survivors Union, the national drug users union
• Vanessa Chevalier, Whose Corner Is It Anyway subcommittee member

Description: People who use drugs encounter significant discrimination in healthcare settings. This case-based panel discussion will center the voices of drug user organizers to illustrate the barriers to quality care and envision what person-centered medical services for stigmatized populations could look like.

What: Recovery Month Kick-off Event, “Harm Reduction: A Pathway to Autonomy, Hope, and Healing”

When: September 15 from 12:00 pm–1:00 pm

Who: Maia Szalavitz and Monique Tula

Watch the Video: Harm Reduction: A Pathway to Autonomy, Hope, and Healing

Speakers:

Maia Szalavitz
Maia Szalavitz is the author of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction (Hachette Go, 2021), the first history of the harm reduction movement and its success in moving America towards more compassionate and effective approaches to addiction. Her previous book, Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, first published in 2016, was a New York Times bestseller and received the 2018 media award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Her earlier book, Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids, was the first to expose the damage caused by the “tough love” business that dominates youth treatment and helped spur Congressional hearings on the matter. She has also authored or co-authored six other books, including the classic on child trauma, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, with Bruce. D. Perry, MD, PhD. In addition, she has written essays and features for numerous publications from High Times to the New York Times.

Monique Tula
Monique Tula is the Executive Director of Harm Reduction Coalition, a national advocacy and capacity-building organization that promotes the health and dignity of people affected by drug use. Previously, she was the Vice President of Programs with AIDS United where she oversaw the grantmaking and technical assistance portfolios. With more than 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Ms. Tula has devoted her career to harm reduction advocacy and infrastructure development of community-based organizations. Ms. Tula is a skilled trainer, having taught program evaluation courses at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and facilitated numerous organizational development trainings for community-based organizations throughout the U.S. An alum of the Centers for Disease Control’s Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership, Ms. Tula holds a degree in Community Planning with a concentration in Non-Profit Management from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership and Management from Boston University’s School of Management. Ms. Tula has been nominated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership award.

What: Recovery Month Information Table

When: September 23 from 9:00 am–4:00 pm

Where: Coffee Central, White Lobby

Description: This information table staffed by members of the MGH Substance Use Disorders Initiative will have general and Mass General-specific resources about substance use disorders and treatment.

What: Buprenorphine Waiver Training (Clinicians only)

When: September 28 from 1:00 pm–5:00 pm

Where: Virtual

Presenters/Faculty: Laura Kehoe, MD, Course Director

Description: Communities across the US are affected by the opioid epidemic and every medical specialty cares for patients with opioid use disorders. Of the 2.5 million people in need of treatment, fewer than 1 million receive it. Evidence-based treatments are under-utilized and there is a clear need to increase access to treatment. The Buprenorphine Waiver Training will educate physicians, NPs, PAs and other clinical staff about the fundamentals of addiction medicine as well as buprenorphine, opioid use disorders, and practical patient management.

The course combines online self-study modules with live virtual training, including review of case studies, to provide a background of addiction treatment options in an office practice-based setting using pharmacological treatments for opioid use disorder. It includes discussion of medication options, focused primarily on buprenorphine, covering induction, stabilization and maintenance, as well as the criteria to evaluate the appropriateness of medication-assisted treatment for individual patients. It is developed by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) and sponsored by a CSAT (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment) grant. The training is free for all.

Completion of this “Half and Half Course” meets the 8-hour physician training requirement* specified in the DATA 2000 (Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000) to prescribe buprenorphine to more than 30 patients.

Prescribing buprenorphine to fewer than 30 patients no longer requires training, but we still recommend this training as a great way to learn the basics of OUD treatment, even if you don’t intend to prescribe to more than 30 patients.

Upon completion of the training, attendees will be able to complete the Waiver Notification Form to obtain an “X license” at no cost. In addition to completing this training, NPs and PAs have other training requirements that must be completed prior to becoming eligible to apply for the waiver. Please email Elizabeth Powell (eapowell@partners.org) to sign up for this training or with questions.

What: Removing Barriers While Remaining Resilient in One’s Recovery During Uncertain Times

When: September 30 from 12:00 pm–1:00 pm

Who:

• Windia Rodriguez
  Program Manager, MGH Recovery Coach Program

• Dawna Aiello
  CPS, CARC, NCPRSS, BS, LADC
  Certified Addictions Recovery Coach
  Recovery Support Specialist
• Ryan O’Brien
  Recovery Coach
  Peer Support Specialist
  LADC II
• Dan Foley
  Recovery Coach
  Peer Navigator

Link to attend: https://partners.zoom.us/j/82706075691

Description: During this challenging time, recovery capital has been more important than ever. Join us for a discussion with our recovery coaches. They will review the tools they used for themselves and their participants to help them maintain their recovery. Our coaches will also share the challenges and successes they experienced.