Join us on Friday, September 6, 2019 at the UMass Amherst Campus Center for a forum, “Addressing the Opioid Crisis in Small and Rural Communities in Western Massachusetts.” This forum, presented by the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, in collaboration with the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, will focus on the numerous ways in which the opioid crisis has impacted Western Massachusetts, with particular attention paid to the social and economic consequences for small and rural communities. Unique challenges and innovative solutions will be highlighted.

This work is supported through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, RIZE Massachusetts Foundation, and Baystate Health. The issue brief is being produced in collaboration with the Brandeis-Harvard NIDA Center to Improve System Performance of Substance Use Disorder Treatment and the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative (OPRC).

Date: Friday, September 6, 2019
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Location: Campus Center Auditorium
Campus Center, 1 Campus Center Way, Amherst, MA 01003 

We hope that you will be able to join us. Seating is limited, so please register as soon as possible. The agenda can be viewed below. If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Osorio, Events Manager for The Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, at ambrooks@brandeis.edu or (781) 736-3940.

AGENDA

8– 8:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Welcome

Kumble R. Subbaswamy, PhD
Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Philip W. Johnston
Chairman, The Massachusetts Health Policy Forum

9 – 9:10 a.m.

Mark A. Keroack, MD, MPH
President & Chief Executive Officer
Baystate Health

9:10 – 10:30 a.m. Research Panel

Moderator: Yves Salomon-Fernandez, PhD
President, Greenfield Community College

Constance M. Horgan, Sc.D.
Professor and Director, Institute for Behavioral Health,
Heller School for Social Policy and Management,
Brandeis University

Robert Bohler, MPH
PhD Student, Institute for Behavioral Health, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University

Peter D. Friedmann, MD, MPH, DFASAM, FACP
Chief Research Officer, Baystate Health
Associate Dean for Research, UMMS-Baystate

Elizabeth Evans, PhD, MA
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Promotion and Policy,
School of Public Health and Health Sciences,
University of Massachusetts Amherst

10:30 – 10:45 a.m.  Break

10:45 – 10:55 a.m. Lived Experience

10:55 – 12:10 p.m.  Stakeholder Panel

Moderator: Yves Salomon-Fernandez, PhD
President, Greenfield Community College

Debra L. McLaughlin
Coordinator
Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region

Andrea Harrington
Berkshire District Attorney

Ruth A. Potee, MD
Director of Addiction Services
Behavioral Health Network

Liz Whynott
Director of Harm Reduction
Tapestry

Deirdre Calvert, MSW, LICSW
Director, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services
Massachusetts Department of Public Health

12:10 – 12:15 p.m.  Closing Remarks

Michael Doonan, PhD
Executive Director, The Massachusetts Health Policy Forum