Providers,

The next North Carolina Substance Abuse Federation meeting will be Thursday, January 5 from 10am to 12pm at the NC Psychological Association [1004 Dresser Ct # 106, Raleigh, NC 27609-7325].

For any logistical questions about the meeting, email Anthony McLeod at anthony[dot]mcleod[at]governorsinstitute.com.  Meeting content questions can be sent to one of the SA Federation officers— Phil Mooring, Tim Hall or Angie Banther.

To call-in to the meeting:  Call 919.990.9559 and ask Chloe to connect you to the meeting Federation meeting.

Download the November meeting minutes here:   NC SA Federation Nov2011 Meeting Minutes [176.0 KiB]

The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services will meet on Tuesday, December 13 at 10 am in Room 643 of the Legislative Office Building.

You can download the meeting agenda here:   Dec 13 LOC meeting agenda [18.6 KiB]

There will a public comment opportunity from 2:30-3pm.  You will need to sign up ahead to speak. Typically there is a sign-up sheet at the back the room and comments are limited to 2-3 mins.  You should arrive early to sign up to speak, the slots will fill-up quickly and not every speaker that has signed up will have the opportunity to speak.

If you can’t attend the meeting, you can listen to live audio here: http://www.ncleg.net/Audio/Audio.html

Click on the link for Appropriations Committee Room (Room 643).

 

From the Salisbury Post 11.30.11

Prescription drug abuse is a problem in Rowan County — and there are things the community can do about it.

That will be the message of a free presentation by Fred W. Brason II, set for 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.Friday at First United Methodist Church in Salisbury.

The program is among the efforts of The Chronic Pain Initiative to prevent misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, a major problem in North Carolina and throughout the country.

The initiative is a collaborative effort of the Community Care of Southern Piedmont and Community Care of North Carolina and Project Lazarus.[0x14] The effort seeks to engage the community — through building coalitions typically made up of health officials, law enforcement, civic groups, schools, public service organizations and others — to encourage the development of interventions tailored to a specific community.

There is no cost to attend Friday’s program, and lunch will be provided. Space is limited, so RSVP to ChristinaCarter@CCofSP or call 704-262-1043.

First Methodist Church is located at 217 South Church Street.

To link to this story, click HERE.

From American Medical News. com 11.28.11

The growing death toll linked to controlled substances spurs the AMA to action. Congressional legislation would mandate training for physicians prescribing opioids.

The American Medical Association will step up efforts to help physicians prevent misuse and abuse of prescription drugs.

At its Interim Meeting in November, the House of Delegates directed the AMA to promote physician training and competence on the proper use of controlled substances and encourage doctors to use screening tools from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and others to identify patients likely to abuse prescription drugs. The directive also calls on the AMA to make substance abuse identification and treatment resources available and encourage physicians to query the prescription-drug monitoring programs established in 36 states.

For more on this story, click HERE.