2nd Annual National Opioid Crisis Management Congress

Susan Hawk, Behavioral health Chief of Clinical Integration at Mercy Health, will be heading to Washington DC, on September 27 and 28, to speak at a national opiate conference to highlight the work being done across the ministry in this area. Susan is one of the featured speakers.

National attention is focused on the opioid crisis, and communities are struggling to respond. Per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, as the clinical use of opioids has risen over the past two decades, opioid-associated harm has risen in parallel.

Chronic pain affects approximately 100 million Americans, making it one of the most common reasons for patients to seek medical care. Over the past decade, there has been a four-fold increase in opioid prescribing. During the same time, there was a four-fold increase in unintentional opioid overdose deaths and a five-fold increase in substance abuse treatment admissions for prescription opioid addiction.

The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two substantial public health challenges—reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications.

This conference will address the state of the science in pain management, characterize the epidemiology of the opioid epidemic, and identify actions that can be taken to respond to this crisis. Gain expert insight into an epidemic from top thought leaders in opioid management who will share their latest research and real-world knowledge in the evolving paradigm of opioids in medicine. In addition, experts at the state and federal levels providing leadership on the opioid public health crisis will present developing collaborative strategic partnerships to serve our most vulnerable citizens.