Zucker to Address Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance on Opioid Crisis Response

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Donna Zucker, professor of nursing, will speak about the College of Nursing’s response to the opioid crisis when she addresses the 2018 Northeast Regional Conference of the Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance in Waltham on Oct. 18.

Zucker will highlight the efforts, innovations and outcomes of SBIRT (screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment) training and clinical practice, as well as interprofessional collaboration.

There were 1,501 confirmed opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts in 2017. The state Department of Public Health estimates that there will be an additional 433 to 518 deaths in 2018.

Zucker is co-principal investigator on a three-year training grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), and UMass Amherst was one of 12 campuses chosen nationally for this initiative spanning three years. More than 350 students and faculty have been trained in SBIRT skills.

Since 2003, SAMSHA has funded nearly 100 training programs for medical residents, nursing students, state cooperative organizations, campus screening initiatives, and medical professional training grants.

The Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance is an organization of physicians’ spouses, physicians, medical students, partners and friends committed to advancing the health and well-being of the family of medicine. The alliance, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Medical Society which co-sponsors the conference, advocates and promotes