Moderator: Tina Messer, MA, Manager, Department of Specialty Courts, Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts, and Member, Operation UNITE Board of Directors

CE Certified By: AMA,AAFP,ACPE,ADA,ANCC,MCHES,NASW

What are our communities doing to help prevent that initial misuse of Rx drugs, which too often leads to serious addiction? This session will highlight best practices related to preventing substance misuse in a data-driven, communitywide, comprehensive manner. From the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), the presenter will identify national best practices for community prevention coalitions to plan, implement and evaluate across CADCA’s Seven Strategies for Community Change to specifically impact population-level reductions in medicine misuse and abuse. Discussion will cover the tools and resources developed by CADCA to address the Rx drug issue with scale and scope in diverse communities. From Carter County, Kentucky, which was at the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, the presenter will describe the organization of and funding for a plan to implement evidence-based, data-driven, comprehensive strategies.

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE, PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- Identify best practices for comprehensively reducing Rx misuse and abuse at the community level.
- Describe the strategic process and comprehensive implementation/evaluation methods used by the Carter County Drug-Free Coalition to reduce Rx misuse and abuse rates from among the highest in the nation to below national averages.
- Explain the types and mix of comprehensive strategy options a community can implement to prevent the misuse of Rx drugs, especially opioids.