AGENDA

8:30-9am Breakfast Reception

9-9:10am MHA Welcome Comments

910-935: Keynote: National Perspective on Building a Culture of Harm Reduction & Expanding Access to Care

Tanagra Malgarejo, Director of National Capacity Building, National Harm Reduction Coalition

9:35-10am: Overdose Prevention Centers and Expanding Access in New England

In conversation with Project Weber/RENEW of Rhode Island on implementation strategies for overdose prevention centers

Julie Burns, CEO & President, RIZE Massachusetts Foundation

Colleen Daley Ndoye, Executive Director, Project Weber/RENEW

10-10:40am: Massachusetts Developments in SUD and Harm Reduction Policies

Presentations on state-based strategies and resources to address the SUD crisis and improve statewide access to care 

Sara Ruiz, Deputy director for strategy and community health

Emily Bailey, LICSW; Chief of Office of Behavioral Health at MassHealth

10:40-11:30am Clinical Care Innovations in SUD Treatment

Panel discussion with hospital-based addiction leaders about clinical care models for harm reduction, including contingency management, clean needle exchanges and mobile clinics

Robert Roose, MD; Chief Administrative Officer, Mercy Medical Center

Jillian Joseph, PA; Director of Road to Care, UMass Memorial Health

Justin Alves, FNP; Clinical Nurse Educator, Boston Medical Center   

Sarah Wakeman, MD; Senior Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder, Mass General Brigham

11:30-11:45pm BREAK

11:45-12:15pm Ending the Crisis through System Change

Panel discussion with Chairs of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery (MHSUR) about current policy priorities addressing the ongoing SUD crisis

Andrea Pessolano, Senior Manager of State Government Advocacy, Boston Medical Center

Senator John Velis, Esq; Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use & Recovery, Massachusetts State Senate

Representative Adrian Madaro, Esq; House Chair, Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use & Recovery, Massachusetts House of Representatives

12:15-12:55pm Peer Recovery Services: The Role of Recovery Coaches in the Care Team

Panel discussion on best practices for integrating recovery coaches into care teams

Julie Bunch, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Staff Lead of Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR)

Nico Alicea, Regional Coordinator Western Massachusetts of MOAR

12:55-1:35pm LUNCH BREAK

1:35-2:20pm: Expanding Low-Threshold Community Access

Panel discussion about expanding community partnerships and resources, improving access to care, and transitioning care into the community

Maria Rios, MPH; Director of Equity and Community Health Policy at Mass General Brigham

Darian Leta, MPH(She/Her/Ella); Senior Manager of Substance Use & Recovery at Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

Pedro Alvarez, Assistant Director of Urban Drug User Health & Outreach at Tapestry

2:20-3:20pm: HEALing Communities Study: Overview & Regional Impact

Series of presentations on an overview of HEALing Communities Study followed by four hospital presentations on local innovations and impact of the study

Jeffrey Samet, MD; Professor, General Internal Medicine & Public Health, Boston University, Primary care and addiction medicine physician at Boston Medical Center

Audra Williams, MD; Medical Director of Addiction Services, Primary Care Physician, Merrimack Family Medicine, Lowell General Hospital

Maria Quinn, MSN; Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Director of Addiction Treatment and Recovery Support at Holyoke Medical Center

Todd Kerensky, MD; Medical Director of Addiction Medicine & Chair Ethics Advisory Committee, South Shore Health, President of Massachusetts Society of Addiction Medicine

3:20-3:25pm Closing Remarks; adjourn