Success Stories from New York, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Vermont

The ORS has put together some success stories featuring the great work of the ORS Teams in NY & PA, MS, and VT.

• New York & Pennsylvania: Creating an Informal Post Overdose Outreach Working Group for Interstate ORS Partners
• Mississippi: Rapid Alert Reports on Non-Fatal Overdoses Impacting Public Safety and Public Health Awareness
• Vermont: Implementation of Testing

Click below to read the full stories and share with your partners!

DEA, SAMHSA Extend COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescribing Controlled Medications for Six Months While Considering Comments from the Public

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued the “Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications” —a temporary rule that extends telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

The temporary rule will take effect on May 11, 2023, and extends the full set of telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency for six months—through November 11, 2023. For any practitioner-patient telemedicine relationships that have been or will be established up to November 11, 2023, the full set of telemedicine flexibilities regarding prescription of controlled medications established during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency will be extended for one-year—through November 11, 2024.

Enhancing Harm Reduction Services in Health Departments: Fentanyl Test Strips and Other Drug Checking Equipment

Local and state health departments and their community-based partners are well equipped to implement and enhance drug checking services to better understand their local drug supply and support PWUD. To inform health departments’ harm reduction programming, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing – with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – developed Enhancing Harm Reduction Services in Health Departments: Fentanyl Test Strips and Other Drug Checking Equipment, an educational brief grounded by real-world experience.

Knowing What Works Lived Experience SME Workgroup Office Hours

With support from the CDC, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing will host office hours for the Lived Experience SME workgroup. During the office hours, National Council and CDC staff members will host various subject matter experts and provide an overview of their expertise, background, and specialty. We will engage in discussions for collaboration opportunities and answer any questions. Please join us biweekly on Thursdays at 3:30 pm-4:30 pm EST, starting on May 11th through July 20th, 2023 to learn more about our Lived Experience SME Workgroup and discuss opportunities to request assistance from this workgroup.

Website to Help People Find Support for Issues with Mental Health, Drugs, or Alcohol

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today launched FindSupport.gov, a new user-friendly website, designed for the general public, to help people identify available resources, explore unbiased information about various treatment options, and learn how to reach out to get the support they need for issues related to mental health, drugs, or alcohol.

Harm Reduction Practices in Treatment Court: What Fits and What Doesn't

Harm reduction is broadly defined as a set of strategies to promote public health by reducing negative consequences associated with drug use for individuals, their families, and the community. It aims to reduce risks and improve quality of life for people who use drugs. Few would argue with these general definitions, but the implementation of harm reduction measures is often contested. What harm reduction looks like for people with justice involvement who are classified as high risk or high need (on a validated assessment) or whose drug addiction threatens public safety has not been adequately addressed until now.

This thought-provoking webinar will encourage treatment courts to fully embrace life-saving harm reduction practices that are both effective with the treatment courts’ target population and compatible with the model.

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 @ 2:30-4:00 EST

Lindsay Wilson - Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator

Lindsay Wilson accepted the role as the ORS Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator in March 2023. Lindsay originally joined the ORS as the public health analyst for Illinois in January of 2021 and is excited to continue to support the ORS in her new role. Prior to her position as a PHA, she served as a health promotion coordinator with Kankakee County Health Department in Kankakee, IL, from 2016 to 2021 where she was the opioid response project coordinator and COVID-19 emergency response coordinator. Lindsay received her Master of Public Health from Benedictine University in Lisle, IL in 2017 and her Bachelor of Science Degree with a focus in Marine Biology from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL in 2007. Prior to Lindsay's career in public health, she served as a Medical Plans and Operations Officer with the US Army. In her spare time, Lindsay is a spin instructor and enjoys camping, kayaking, and being outdoors with her family.

Amanda Gan - New Jersey PHA

Amanda Gan joined the Overdose Response Strategy as the Public Health Analyst for New Jersey in April 2023. Amanda received her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health Education from Stockton University in 2016 and returned to Stockton University in 2020 as part of the first cohort of the Master of Business in Healthcare Administration and Leadership program. Amanda completed the Master's program in August 2022 and previously worked at the Ocean County Health Department as a Program Development Specialist, leading the county's local Overdose Response Plan. Amanda is also a Certified Health Education Specialist and Certified Prevention Specialist with a deep-rooted passion for substance use prevention and education. Currently, Amanda resides in Manahawkin, New Jersey and loves to go on adventures with her two Boykin Spaniels, Avery and Cedar.

Troy Greene - Minnesota DIO

Retired Deputy Chief for the Saint Paul Police Department was a licensed police officer for over 28 years. He has a master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Police Leadership. Troy has served in many capacities as a law enforcement professional within the St. Paul Police Department. These assignments included: Patrol Officer, SWAT Operator and Team Leader, Narcotics Investigator, DEA Task Force Officer, Internal Affairs Investigator, Less Lethal Force Trainer, Training Unit Executive Officer, Commander of the Training Unit, Commander of the Technology Unit and Senior Commander of the Special Operations Unit in charge of department readiness, special events and mobile field force. Troy concluded his career as the Deputy Chief of the Community Engagement Division.

Demond J. Lockhart - Louisiana DIO

Demond Lockhart was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and recently retired after twenty-five years of service with the New Orleans Police Department. Demond spent the majority of his law enforcement career as a narcotics Detective and Task Force Officer for the Drug Enforcement Administration, supporting the Gulf Coast HIDTA initiative. As a result, taking the HIDTA DIO position as his encore career was ideal. Demond is thrilled to be collaborating with all of our law enforcement and public health partners.  

Geno Stewart - Oklahoma DIO

Geno Stewart served as a sworn Law Enforcement Officer for 28 years and the last four years as a Health Care Fraud Investigator. Geno received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Stephen F Austin State University and a Master of Science in Technology from the University of Texas at Tyler. Starting in 1990 he served five years with the Dangerfield, Texas Police Department and Ark-La-Tex Narcotics Drug Task Force as a Criminal Investigator. In 1996, Geno accepted a position with the US Border Patrol where he spent 2 ½ years as a Patrol Agent in Temecula, California. In 1998, he was sworn in as a Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration at the Los Angeles Field Division. Special Agent Stewart was assigned to the Medford, Oregon Resident Office, Guatemala City Country Office, and the McAlester, Oklahoma Resident Office from where he retired in 2018 as the Resident Agent in Charge. In 2018, Geno accepted a contract investigator position with the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Oklahoma collaborating with attorneys and investigators on current criminal and civil investigations, and developing and instructing law enforcement and public awareness courses on addiction and the opioid epidemic. Geno started his DIO career in April 2023 with Texoma HIDTA.