Tess Benham
Sr. Program Manager, Prescription Drug Overdose Initiative
National Safety Council
Tess Benham develops and implements the National Safety Council programs to prevent Rx drug overdose, the leading cause of preventable injury fatalities. She has developed programs promoting safety and health on and off the job. Benham serves a certifier for communities seeking designation through the Safe Communities America Initiative. She completed her bachelor's degree in management at George Mason University.
Sr. Program Manager, Prescription Drug Overdose Initiative
National Safety Council
Tess Benham develops and implements the National Safety Council programs to prevent Rx drug overdose, the leading cause of preventable injury fatalities. She has developed programs promoting safety and health on and off the job. Benham serves a certifier for communities seeking designation through the Safe Communities America Initiative. She completed her bachelor's degree in management at George Mason University.
Tara Benjamin
MD, MS, FACOG, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine
Director, Maternal Recovery Program, Riley Maternity and Newborn Health
Tara Benjamin, MD, MS, is a native of New Iberia, Louisiana. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Her bachelor's degree was obtained from Xavier University of Louisiana and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Her residency was completed at Tulane University and her fellowship at Indiana University School of Medicine, where she also received a master's degree in clinical research. She is the Director of the Maternal Recovery Program for Riley Maternity and Newborn Health and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM). Benjamin has a special interest in opioid use disorder in pregnancy and has a DEA waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for up to 100 patients. Since becoming faculty at IUSM in August 2015, she and her team have managed almost 300 pregnant women with opioid use disorder.
What We Wish We Had Known: Lessons Learned in Establishing a MAT Program for Pregnant Women
MD, MS, FACOG, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine
Director, Maternal Recovery Program, Riley Maternity and Newborn Health
Tara Benjamin, MD, MS, is a native of New Iberia, Louisiana. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Her bachelor's degree was obtained from Xavier University of Louisiana and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Her residency was completed at Tulane University and her fellowship at Indiana University School of Medicine, where she also received a master's degree in clinical research. She is the Director of the Maternal Recovery Program for Riley Maternity and Newborn Health and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM). Benjamin has a special interest in opioid use disorder in pregnancy and has a DEA waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for up to 100 patients. Since becoming faculty at IUSM in August 2015, she and her team have managed almost 300 pregnant women with opioid use disorder.
What We Wish We Had Known: Lessons Learned in Establishing a MAT Program for Pregnant Women
Mark Birdwhistell
MPA, Vice President for Administration and External Affairs
University of Kentucky HealthCare
Mark D. Birdwhistell serves as the Vice President for Administration and External Affairs for the University of Kentucky HealthCare. In this capacity, he provides executive leadership in administration and strategic direction across the clinical enterprise, collaborating effectively with physicians and other leadership of the healthcare team. Birdwhistell is also responsible for the development and oversight of UK HealthCare, clinical outreach and development initiatives, including clinical co-management approaches. He provides direction and oversight to marketing and public relations initiatives and represents UK HealthCare at the local, state and national levels as a national speaker on healthcare policy and Medicaid reform efforts. Birdwhistell has spent the better part of 40 years working in a number of roles in healthcare administration. From 2003-2007, he served as the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health & Family Services under Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher and he has previously served as Chief Executive Officer of CHA Health and Director of the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services. Most recently, he served as a policy adviser to Gov. Matt Bevin during the drafting of a Section 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waiver designed to innovate and transform Kentucky’s Medicaid program. Birdwhistell holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Kentucky and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown College. He resided in Richmond, Kentucky, with his wife, Martha.
MPA, Vice President for Administration and External Affairs
University of Kentucky HealthCare
Mark D. Birdwhistell serves as the Vice President for Administration and External Affairs for the University of Kentucky HealthCare. In this capacity, he provides executive leadership in administration and strategic direction across the clinical enterprise, collaborating effectively with physicians and other leadership of the healthcare team. Birdwhistell is also responsible for the development and oversight of UK HealthCare, clinical outreach and development initiatives, including clinical co-management approaches. He provides direction and oversight to marketing and public relations initiatives and represents UK HealthCare at the local, state and national levels as a national speaker on healthcare policy and Medicaid reform efforts. Birdwhistell has spent the better part of 40 years working in a number of roles in healthcare administration. From 2003-2007, he served as the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health & Family Services under Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher and he has previously served as Chief Executive Officer of CHA Health and Director of the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services. Most recently, he served as a policy adviser to Gov. Matt Bevin during the drafting of a Section 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waiver designed to innovate and transform Kentucky’s Medicaid program. Birdwhistell holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Kentucky and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown College. He resided in Richmond, Kentucky, with his wife, Martha.
Daniel Blaney-Koen
JD, Senior Legislative Attorney
American Medical Association, and Member, National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board
Daniel Blaney-Koen, JD, is a senior legislative attorney with the American Medical Association Advocacy Resource Center (ARC). The ARC attorneys focus on working with state and specialty medical societies on state legislative, regulatory and policy advocacy. In addition to his work in the ARC, Blaney-Koen has held several roles at the AMA, including serving as a public information officer, policy analyst and speechwriter. Currently, he focuses on state legislation and policy concerning the nation’s opioid epidemic, with particular emphasis on overdose prevention and treatment. He also covers other pharmaceutical issues as well as insurance market reforms. Prior to joining the AMA in 1999, Blaney-Koen earned his Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from Colorado State University, and his bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona. He earned his law degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Blaney-Koen, his wife, two young sons and daughter live in Chicago. Blaney-Koen is a member of the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board.
JD, Senior Legislative Attorney
American Medical Association, and Member, National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board
Daniel Blaney-Koen, JD, is a senior legislative attorney with the American Medical Association Advocacy Resource Center (ARC). The ARC attorneys focus on working with state and specialty medical societies on state legislative, regulatory and policy advocacy. In addition to his work in the ARC, Blaney-Koen has held several roles at the AMA, including serving as a public information officer, policy analyst and speechwriter. Currently, he focuses on state legislation and policy concerning the nation’s opioid epidemic, with particular emphasis on overdose prevention and treatment. He also covers other pharmaceutical issues as well as insurance market reforms. Prior to joining the AMA in 1999, Blaney-Koen earned his Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from Colorado State University, and his bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona. He earned his law degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Blaney-Koen, his wife, two young sons and daughter live in Chicago. Blaney-Koen is a member of the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board.
Michele K. Bohm
MPH, Health Scientist
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Michele Bohm received her master’s degree in epidemiology from Emory University and is a Health Scientist with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has worked on issues related to opioid abuse since 2012, including tracking trends in opioid prescribing and conducting analyses to understand how health services data can inform prevention efforts. She also works with other centers and divisions at CDC as the opioid epidemic now impacts multiple public health issues including infectious disease risk among people who inject drugs, self-harm and suicide among people with chronic pain, neonatal abstinence syndrome and adolescent misuse of prescriptions.
Heroin and Healthcare: Identifying Opportunities for Intervention Prior to Overdose
MPH, Health Scientist
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Michele Bohm received her master’s degree in epidemiology from Emory University and is a Health Scientist with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has worked on issues related to opioid abuse since 2012, including tracking trends in opioid prescribing and conducting analyses to understand how health services data can inform prevention efforts. She also works with other centers and divisions at CDC as the opioid epidemic now impacts multiple public health issues including infectious disease risk among people who inject drugs, self-harm and suicide among people with chronic pain, neonatal abstinence syndrome and adolescent misuse of prescriptions.
Heroin and Healthcare: Identifying Opportunities for Intervention Prior to Overdose
Sally Borges
MSN, RN, Supervisor of Health Services
Stoughton (Massachusetts) Public Schools
Sally Borges has been a licensed registered nurse in Massachusetts since 1995 and has a master's degree in nursing. She has worked in a variety of settings within the community, concentrating on pediatrics starting in 2006 when she began working in the Fall River School Department as a school nurse. Currently, she holds the position of Supervisor of Health Services for Stoughton Public Schools and has held that position since 2015. Concurrently, Borges still is employed for a pediatrician's office in the city of Fall River.
Effective Early Primary Prevention for Rx Drug Abuse
MSN, RN, Supervisor of Health Services
Stoughton (Massachusetts) Public Schools
Sally Borges has been a licensed registered nurse in Massachusetts since 1995 and has a master's degree in nursing. She has worked in a variety of settings within the community, concentrating on pediatrics starting in 2006 when she began working in the Fall River School Department as a school nurse. Currently, she holds the position of Supervisor of Health Services for Stoughton Public Schools and has held that position since 2015. Concurrently, Borges still is employed for a pediatrician's office in the city of Fall River.
Effective Early Primary Prevention for Rx Drug Abuse
Jeffrey Bratberg
PharmD, Clinical Professor
University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy
Dr. Jeffrey Bratberg is well acquainted with the challenges community pharmacists and pharmacies face regarding opioid dispensing, safety, overdose and addiction. In 2012, Bratberg, along with a University of Rhode Island student pharmacist, co-developed an overdose education and naloxone training program for pharmacists in the first-in-nation statewide Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreement for naloxone. He is an unpaid consultant for prescribetoprevent.org, a website devoted to opioid overdose education and naloxone training, which hosts an online continuing professional education program that has trained over 10,000 pharmacists nationwide. In 2015, he was selected to serve as a member of the Rhode Island Governor’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force. He is a consultant or co-investigator on federal grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Bratberg is the 2016 NASPA National Cardinal Health Generation Rx Award winner. The Generation Rx Champions Award honors a pharmacist who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to raising awareness of the dangers of Rx drug misuse among the general public, as well as the pharmacy community. Finally, Bratberg is the guest editor of the first ever special issue on Opioid Safety and Naloxone of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (Mar/April 2017).
Pharmacy-Based Naloxone: Strategies from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oregon and Washington
PharmD, Clinical Professor
University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy
Dr. Jeffrey Bratberg is well acquainted with the challenges community pharmacists and pharmacies face regarding opioid dispensing, safety, overdose and addiction. In 2012, Bratberg, along with a University of Rhode Island student pharmacist, co-developed an overdose education and naloxone training program for pharmacists in the first-in-nation statewide Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreement for naloxone. He is an unpaid consultant for prescribetoprevent.org, a website devoted to opioid overdose education and naloxone training, which hosts an online continuing professional education program that has trained over 10,000 pharmacists nationwide. In 2015, he was selected to serve as a member of the Rhode Island Governor’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force. He is a consultant or co-investigator on federal grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Bratberg is the 2016 NASPA National Cardinal Health Generation Rx Award winner. The Generation Rx Champions Award honors a pharmacist who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to raising awareness of the dangers of Rx drug misuse among the general public, as well as the pharmacy community. Finally, Bratberg is the guest editor of the first ever special issue on Opioid Safety and Naloxone of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (Mar/April 2017).
Pharmacy-Based Naloxone: Strategies from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oregon and Washington
Lindsey Bridwell
MPH, CHES, Evaluation Fellow, Opioid Overdose Health Systems Team
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lindsey Bridwell is as an Evaluation Fellow on the Prescription Drug Overdose Health System Team in the Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her primary role as an evaluation scientist involves conducting impact assessments of CDC’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain and providing technical assistance to states in responding to the opioid epidemic. She has a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from the College of William & Mary and an master's degree in public health in behavioral science and health education with a certificate in mental health from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Lindsey is also a Certified Health Education Specialist and has coordinated, evaluated and developed programmatic curriculum in the areas of tuberculosis research training, literacy, noncommunicable disease, neurodegenerative disease, youth alcohol and substance use prevention programs, and opioid misuse and overdose.
Heroin and Healthcare: Identifying Opportunities for Intervention Prior to Overdose
Advancing Science Into Action: Enhancing PDMPs and EHRs
MPH, CHES, Evaluation Fellow, Opioid Overdose Health Systems Team
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lindsey Bridwell is as an Evaluation Fellow on the Prescription Drug Overdose Health System Team in the Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her primary role as an evaluation scientist involves conducting impact assessments of CDC’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain and providing technical assistance to states in responding to the opioid epidemic. She has a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from the College of William & Mary and an master's degree in public health in behavioral science and health education with a certificate in mental health from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Lindsey is also a Certified Health Education Specialist and has coordinated, evaluated and developed programmatic curriculum in the areas of tuberculosis research training, literacy, noncommunicable disease, neurodegenerative disease, youth alcohol and substance use prevention programs, and opioid misuse and overdose.
Heroin and Healthcare: Identifying Opportunities for Intervention Prior to Overdose
Advancing Science Into Action: Enhancing PDMPs and EHRs
Brandi Brinkerhoff
MSN, RN, WHNP-BC, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Ambassador
Indiana University School of Medicine
Brandi Brinkerhoff is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner in Women’s Health Care. She obtained her Associates of Science in Nursing in 2010, her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2011, and her Masters of Science in Nursing in 2015, all from the University of Indianapolis. Brinkerhoff started her nursing career as a bedside nurse on a Pulmonary Medical-Surgical unit, before spending four years as a Labor and Delivery Nurse on the Obstetric Intensive Care Unit at Indiana University Health, University Hospital. Upon obtaining her master's degree, she transitioned into the advanced provider role with Maternal Fetal Medicine in 2015. Brinkerhoff has a DEA waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for up to 30 patients. She works both in the inpatient setting to help pregnant women with opioid use disorder initiate onto buprenorphine and the outpatient setting to monitor those women during their pregnancies.
What We Wish We Had Known: Lessons Learned in Establishing a MAT Program for Pregnant Women
MSN, RN, WHNP-BC, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Ambassador
Indiana University School of Medicine
Brandi Brinkerhoff is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner in Women’s Health Care. She obtained her Associates of Science in Nursing in 2010, her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2011, and her Masters of Science in Nursing in 2015, all from the University of Indianapolis. Brinkerhoff started her nursing career as a bedside nurse on a Pulmonary Medical-Surgical unit, before spending four years as a Labor and Delivery Nurse on the Obstetric Intensive Care Unit at Indiana University Health, University Hospital. Upon obtaining her master's degree, she transitioned into the advanced provider role with Maternal Fetal Medicine in 2015. Brinkerhoff has a DEA waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for up to 30 patients. She works both in the inpatient setting to help pregnant women with opioid use disorder initiate onto buprenorphine and the outpatient setting to monitor those women during their pregnancies.
What We Wish We Had Known: Lessons Learned in Establishing a MAT Program for Pregnant Women
Jennifer Broad
MPH, Research Analyst-Advanced
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Jennifer Broad is a Research Analyst-Advanced at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health. The Office of Health Informatics was awarded the Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Broad’s role is the Dissemination Coordinator for that grant. She has a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Illinois-Chicago and has worked at city, state and military public health agencies, as well as academia.
States with Fast Data: Lessons Learned from Kentucky, New Mexico and Wisconsin
MPH, Research Analyst-Advanced
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Jennifer Broad is a Research Analyst-Advanced at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health. The Office of Health Informatics was awarded the Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Broad’s role is the Dissemination Coordinator for that grant. She has a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Illinois-Chicago and has worked at city, state and military public health agencies, as well as academia.
States with Fast Data: Lessons Learned from Kentucky, New Mexico and Wisconsin
Thom Browne, Jr.
MA, Chief Executive Officer
Colombo Plan Secretariat
Thom Browne, Jr., who has a master's degree in criminal justice, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the global criminal justice and demand reduction consulting firm Rubicon Global Enterprises and CEO of the international organization Colombo Plan. Browne is an internationally recognized expert in the demand reduction and criminal justice fields, having created substance use treatment systems and prevention programs in over 70 countries and international law enforcement academies on five continents during his 25-year career at the U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). Earlier in his federal career, Browne served at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), where he developed strategies, designed programs and authored research/intelligence reports addressing the original fentanyl analog/synthetic heroin and crack cocaine epidemics in the 1980s. He finished his DEA service as Chief of the Latin American Intelligence section where he authored the Reagan Administration’s cocaine suppression strategy. At INL, Browne supported the formation of the International Society of Substance Use Professionals and International Society of Addiction Medicine. In 2014, he was a finalist for the prestigious Service to America Medal for Career Achievement in the federal government. Upon his retirement from INL in 2015, he was given the Career Achievement Award by the Secretary of State.
America's Hidden Drug Epidemic: It's More than Opioids
MA, Chief Executive Officer
Colombo Plan Secretariat
Thom Browne, Jr., who has a master's degree in criminal justice, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the global criminal justice and demand reduction consulting firm Rubicon Global Enterprises and CEO of the international organization Colombo Plan. Browne is an internationally recognized expert in the demand reduction and criminal justice fields, having created substance use treatment systems and prevention programs in over 70 countries and international law enforcement academies on five continents during his 25-year career at the U.S. Department of State/Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). Earlier in his federal career, Browne served at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), where he developed strategies, designed programs and authored research/intelligence reports addressing the original fentanyl analog/synthetic heroin and crack cocaine epidemics in the 1980s. He finished his DEA service as Chief of the Latin American Intelligence section where he authored the Reagan Administration’s cocaine suppression strategy. At INL, Browne supported the formation of the International Society of Substance Use Professionals and International Society of Addiction Medicine. In 2014, he was a finalist for the prestigious Service to America Medal for Career Achievement in the federal government. Upon his retirement from INL in 2015, he was given the Career Achievement Award by the Secretary of State.
America's Hidden Drug Epidemic: It's More than Opioids
Lin Browning
MA, Executive Director
Central Area Health Education Center
Lin Browning currently serves as the Executive Director for Central Colorado Area Health Education Center (CCAHEC), which focuses on health careers and workforce diversity, health professions student education, health professions continuing education, and public health and community education. With degrees in education (master's) and psychology (bachelor's), certification in economic development and nonprofit management, along with experience in real estate, investing, business development and human resources, Browning feels that leading CCAHEC utilizes her strengths and allows for continued progression. Her dual passions for education and workforce development lend themselves nicely to the current projects at CCAHEC, particularly the Colorado AmeriCorps Community Opioid Response Program. As a true collaborator, Browning is grateful for the strong partnerships between the Colorado Regional AHEC Offices, Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and Rise Above Colorado. This unique structure allows for a holistic approach to the current opioid epidemic facing the nation.
Colorado AmeriCorps Community Opioid Response Program
MA, Executive Director
Central Area Health Education Center
Lin Browning currently serves as the Executive Director for Central Colorado Area Health Education Center (CCAHEC), which focuses on health careers and workforce diversity, health professions student education, health professions continuing education, and public health and community education. With degrees in education (master's) and psychology (bachelor's), certification in economic development and nonprofit management, along with experience in real estate, investing, business development and human resources, Browning feels that leading CCAHEC utilizes her strengths and allows for continued progression. Her dual passions for education and workforce development lend themselves nicely to the current projects at CCAHEC, particularly the Colorado AmeriCorps Community Opioid Response Program. As a true collaborator, Browning is grateful for the strong partnerships between the Colorado Regional AHEC Offices, Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and Rise Above Colorado. This unique structure allows for a holistic approach to the current opioid epidemic facing the nation.
Colorado AmeriCorps Community Opioid Response Program
Krista Brucker
MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Krista Brucker is a faculty member at the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine and works clinically in the Emergency Department at Eskenazi Health. Her research focuses on mental health and substance abuse treatment in the Emergency Department setting. Her current work includes the design and implementation of Project POINT, a collaborative effort aimed at identifying, treating and linking patients with opioid use disorders to outpatient treatment services. She also runs an observational study assessing a new risk stratification tool for emergency department patients with suicidal ideation. Brucker completed her emergency medicine residency at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. She is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from DePauw University. Born and raised in Minnesota, she currently resides in Indianapolis.
Integrating Peer Support Service in the ED: Benefits and Challenges
MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Krista Brucker is a faculty member at the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine and works clinically in the Emergency Department at Eskenazi Health. Her research focuses on mental health and substance abuse treatment in the Emergency Department setting. Her current work includes the design and implementation of Project POINT, a collaborative effort aimed at identifying, treating and linking patients with opioid use disorders to outpatient treatment services. She also runs an observational study assessing a new risk stratification tool for emergency department patients with suicidal ideation. Brucker completed her emergency medicine residency at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. She is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from DePauw University. Born and raised in Minnesota, she currently resides in Indianapolis.
Integrating Peer Support Service in the ED: Benefits and Challenges
Chad Brummett
MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of the Division of Pain Research
University of Michigan
Dr. Chad Brummett co-directs the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network, or Michigan-OPEN, an initiative that seeks to transform pain management and curb opioid abuse in the state of Michigan. Based at the University of Michigan Medical School and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, it is a five-year initiative funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Brummett is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan, the director of the Division of Pain Research and, more broadly, is the Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Anesthesiology. He studies perioperative opioid use and opioid-related outcomes, informing his work with Michigan-OPEN. In addition, his research interests include predictors of acute and chronic post-surgical pain and failure to derive benefit for interventions and surgeries done primarily for pain. Brummett earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at Indiana University followed by anesthesiology residency at the University of Michigan and a pain medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.
A Public, Private Payer Partnership to Prevent Opioid Abuse and Transform Acute Care Pain Management
MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of the Division of Pain Research
University of Michigan
Dr. Chad Brummett co-directs the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network, or Michigan-OPEN, an initiative that seeks to transform pain management and curb opioid abuse in the state of Michigan. Based at the University of Michigan Medical School and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, it is a five-year initiative funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Brummett is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan, the director of the Division of Pain Research and, more broadly, is the Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Anesthesiology. He studies perioperative opioid use and opioid-related outcomes, informing his work with Michigan-OPEN. In addition, his research interests include predictors of acute and chronic post-surgical pain and failure to derive benefit for interventions and surgeries done primarily for pain. Brummett earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at Indiana University followed by anesthesiology residency at the University of Michigan and a pain medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.
A Public, Private Payer Partnership to Prevent Opioid Abuse and Transform Acute Care Pain Management
A. Lucile Burgo-Black
MD, FACP, ABIHM, National Co-Director Post Deployment Integrated Care Initiative
Veterans Health Administration, Patient Care Services, VA Connecticut Health Care System
Dr. Lucile Burgo-Black is a general internist and assistant clinical professor at Yale University. For 31 years she has provided primary care at the West Haven, Connecticut VA Medical Center to all cohorts of veterans and works with medical students and residents. She has served in local and regional primary care leadership positions and is now the National Co-Director of the Post Deployment Integrated Care Initiative with Patient Care Services. She is involved in national opioid safety, pain, military culture and PACT (patient aligned care team) initiatives and training of both VA and community providers. Her interests are the integration of mental health services into primary care, integrative medicine, collaborative care models for patients with complex chronic comorbidities especially involving chronic pain, as well as, improving our healthcare care systems for veterans leveraging virtual care and social media.
VA Best Practices: S.T.O.P. P.A.I.N Initiative and Practice Guidelines
MD, FACP, ABIHM, National Co-Director Post Deployment Integrated Care Initiative
Veterans Health Administration, Patient Care Services, VA Connecticut Health Care System
Dr. Lucile Burgo-Black is a general internist and assistant clinical professor at Yale University. For 31 years she has provided primary care at the West Haven, Connecticut VA Medical Center to all cohorts of veterans and works with medical students and residents. She has served in local and regional primary care leadership positions and is now the National Co-Director of the Post Deployment Integrated Care Initiative with Patient Care Services. She is involved in national opioid safety, pain, military culture and PACT (patient aligned care team) initiatives and training of both VA and community providers. Her interests are the integration of mental health services into primary care, integrative medicine, collaborative care models for patients with complex chronic comorbidities especially involving chronic pain, as well as, improving our healthcare care systems for veterans leveraging virtual care and social media.
VA Best Practices: S.T.O.P. P.A.I.N Initiative and Practice Guidelines
Jenny Burke
JD, Senior Director, Advocacy
National Safety Council
Jenny Burke advances the National Safety Council (NSC) mission of eliminating preventable deaths in our lifetime by leading various NSC initiatives. These programs raise awareness and educate audiences to keep each other safe, involving safety on the road and in homes and communities, fatigue and Rx drug overdose. Burke previously served as a Senior Legal Analyst at the law firm of Wolters Kluwer, specializing in Medicare, Medicaid, food and drug law and healthcare compliance. She is a licensed attorney in Illinois since 2002 and clerked for two years in the Illinois Appellate Court, First Division. A graduate of DePaul University College of Law, Burke also holds a master's degree in health law and policy from DePaul’s Public Services graduate program and a certificate in health law. She received her bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Burke has served on her local school board and the nature center board.
Real Costs of Rx Pain Meds, Opioids and Substance Use in the Workplace: What Employers and Communities Can Do
JD, Senior Director, Advocacy
National Safety Council
Jenny Burke advances the National Safety Council (NSC) mission of eliminating preventable deaths in our lifetime by leading various NSC initiatives. These programs raise awareness and educate audiences to keep each other safe, involving safety on the road and in homes and communities, fatigue and Rx drug overdose. Burke previously served as a Senior Legal Analyst at the law firm of Wolters Kluwer, specializing in Medicare, Medicaid, food and drug law and healthcare compliance. She is a licensed attorney in Illinois since 2002 and clerked for two years in the Illinois Appellate Court, First Division. A graduate of DePaul University College of Law, Burke also holds a master's degree in health law and policy from DePaul’s Public Services graduate program and a certificate in health law. She received her bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Burke has served on her local school board and the nature center board.
Real Costs of Rx Pain Meds, Opioids and Substance Use in the Workplace: What Employers and Communities Can Do
Monty Burks
PhD, CPRS, Director of Faith-Based Initiatives
Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Monty Burks, CPRS, PhD, serves as the Director of Faith-Based Initiatives for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, where his role is engaging and connecting Tennessee’s faith communities with the goal of expanding addiction recovery support services across the state. He also oversees the Tennessee Lifeline Peer Project, a state program aimed at reducing the stigma associated with people who suffer from addiction. Burks earned his master’s degree in criminal justice from Middle Tennessee State University and his doctorate in theology from Heritage. Burks has more than 16 years’ experience working with the criminal justice system in various roles, including adjunct criminal justice professor at Motlow State Community College, Criminal Justice Research Analyst at Middle Tennessee State University, and Criminal Justice Program coordinator at Tennessee State University, where he still serves as an adjunct professor of criminal justice.
Faith-Based Recovery Support: What Works in Tennessee
PhD, CPRS, Director of Faith-Based Initiatives
Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Monty Burks, CPRS, PhD, serves as the Director of Faith-Based Initiatives for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, where his role is engaging and connecting Tennessee’s faith communities with the goal of expanding addiction recovery support services across the state. He also oversees the Tennessee Lifeline Peer Project, a state program aimed at reducing the stigma associated with people who suffer from addiction. Burks earned his master’s degree in criminal justice from Middle Tennessee State University and his doctorate in theology from Heritage. Burks has more than 16 years’ experience working with the criminal justice system in various roles, including adjunct criminal justice professor at Motlow State Community College, Criminal Justice Research Analyst at Middle Tennessee State University, and Criminal Justice Program coordinator at Tennessee State University, where he still serves as an adjunct professor of criminal justice.
Faith-Based Recovery Support: What Works in Tennessee
Anne L. Burns
RPh, Vice President, Professional Affairs
American Pharmacists Association, and Member, National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board
Anne L. Burns, RPh, is Vice President, Professional Affairs, at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). She is responsible for the association’s strategic initiatives focused on advancing pharmacists’ patient care services in team-based care delivery models, as well as health care quality, pharmacy practice accreditation and credentialing. She also works on APhA’s medication therapy management, medication safety, Rx drug abuse and health information technology initiatives in addition to other key pharmacy practice issues. She has served on many medication therapy management and quality-related advisory councils. Burns joined APhA’s Education Department in 1997, and transitioned to the Professional Affairs Department in 1999 to focus on pharmacists’ patient care services and community pharmacy residency program accreditation. Prior to joining APhA, she served on the faculty at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Pharmacy. She is a graduate of OSU and completed the Wharton Executive Management Program for Pharmacy Leaders. Burns is a member of the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board.
RPh, Vice President, Professional Affairs
American Pharmacists Association, and Member, National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board
Anne L. Burns, RPh, is Vice President, Professional Affairs, at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). She is responsible for the association’s strategic initiatives focused on advancing pharmacists’ patient care services in team-based care delivery models, as well as health care quality, pharmacy practice accreditation and credentialing. She also works on APhA’s medication therapy management, medication safety, Rx drug abuse and health information technology initiatives in addition to other key pharmacy practice issues. She has served on many medication therapy management and quality-related advisory councils. Burns joined APhA’s Education Department in 1997, and transitioned to the Professional Affairs Department in 1999 to focus on pharmacists’ patient care services and community pharmacy residency program accreditation. Prior to joining APhA, she served on the faculty at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Pharmacy. She is a graduate of OSU and completed the Wharton Executive Management Program for Pharmacy Leaders. Burns is a member of the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board.
Asokumar Buvanendran
MD, Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Rush University Medical Center
Committee on Pain Medicine Chair, American Society of Anesthesiologists
Dr. Asokumar Buvanendran is an anesthesiologist specializing in pain medicine, Chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Pain Committee, and President of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. He dedicates time to research and teaching, including clinical duties in the Rush University Department of Anesthesiology and national advocacy for advancement in pain care. He was a reviewer of the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. At Rush, Buvanendran is William Gottschalk, Endowed Chair of Anesthesiology, Vice Chair of Research, Director of Orthopedic Anesthesia, and Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology. He brings a unique perspective, with a very busy clinical practice of acute and chronic interventional pain medicine with research. While a large focus of his practice is on chronic pain patients, his department also has a collaborative agreement with the Department of Orthopedics, where they foster treatment modalities before patients have surgery—improving both postoperative pain for patients and outcomes. He was one of the early pioneer researchers in multimodal analgesia for orthopedic surgery with key publications in JAMA. Buvanendran has also served as Medical Director for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery and Co-Director of the Anesthesiology Research Clerkship at Rush.
Hospitals in Action: Creating Safer Post-Operative Management to Reduce Opioid-Related Harm
MD, Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Rush University Medical Center
Committee on Pain Medicine Chair, American Society of Anesthesiologists
Dr. Asokumar Buvanendran is an anesthesiologist specializing in pain medicine, Chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Pain Committee, and President of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. He dedicates time to research and teaching, including clinical duties in the Rush University Department of Anesthesiology and national advocacy for advancement in pain care. He was a reviewer of the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. At Rush, Buvanendran is William Gottschalk, Endowed Chair of Anesthesiology, Vice Chair of Research, Director of Orthopedic Anesthesia, and Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology. He brings a unique perspective, with a very busy clinical practice of acute and chronic interventional pain medicine with research. While a large focus of his practice is on chronic pain patients, his department also has a collaborative agreement with the Department of Orthopedics, where they foster treatment modalities before patients have surgery—improving both postoperative pain for patients and outcomes. He was one of the early pioneer researchers in multimodal analgesia for orthopedic surgery with key publications in JAMA. Buvanendran has also served as Medical Director for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery and Co-Director of the Anesthesiology Research Clerkship at Rush.
Hospitals in Action: Creating Safer Post-Operative Management to Reduce Opioid-Related Harm
Jeremy Campbell
Reporter
WXIA Tegna, Inc.
Jeremy Campbell is a reporter with a decade’s worth of experience at small and large market stations. He and Erin Gutierrez are the creators of “The Triangle,” a documentary news series that exposed the dramatic increase in heroin related deaths in Atlanta’s suburbs and investigated potential solutions to the crisis. Their work together has been honored with six Emmy Awards, a Murrow Award for Innovation and the National Association of Broadcaster’s President’s Award.
How to Talk to the Media About Heroin
Reporter
WXIA Tegna, Inc.
Jeremy Campbell is a reporter with a decade’s worth of experience at small and large market stations. He and Erin Gutierrez are the creators of “The Triangle,” a documentary news series that exposed the dramatic increase in heroin related deaths in Atlanta’s suburbs and investigated potential solutions to the crisis. Their work together has been honored with six Emmy Awards, a Murrow Award for Innovation and the National Association of Broadcaster’s President’s Award.
How to Talk to the Media About Heroin
