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Mary Lou Leary, deputy director of state, local and tribal affairs for the U.S Office of National Drug Control Policy, and a Worcester native, moderated the discussion. |
Five UMass Medical School faculty members discussed the successes and challenges in dealing with Worcester’s opioid epidemic at a City Hall forum on Monday, June 20, to highlight the need for more federal funding. More than a hundred people packed the Levi Lincoln room for the discussion, which was covered by MassLive, Worcester Telegram & Gazetteand CharterTV3.
UMMS panelists included:
- Matilde Castiel, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine and Worcester commissioner of Health and Human Services;
- Dennis Dimitri, MD, vice chair and clinical associate professor of family medicine & community health;
- Erik Garcia, MD, assistant professor of family medicine & community health;
- Jeff Baxter, MD, associate professor of family medicine & community health; and
- Alan Brown, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry.
Mary Lou Leary, deputy director of state, local and tribal affairs for the U.S Office of National Drug Control Policy, and a Worcester native, moderated the discussion. Dr. Castiel said projections show a drop in drug overdoses by the end of the year, but efforts must still focus on treatment and recovery for addicts. Other panelists, including Dr. Garcia, Dr. Baxter and Dr. Brown, said recovery is a process that requires support from the community, from expanded mental health services to an increased number of treatment facilities.
Dr. Dimitri said Massachusetts has made significant progress compared to other states, including UMass Medical School’s implementation of a new curriculum to ensure graduates from the School of Medicine and Graduate School of Nursing complete intensive hands-on training in opioid safe prescribing and pain management.
