Opioid Task Force

Evidence-Based Practices to Prevent Overdose: National Findings from the HEALing Communities Study and Its Local Impact
2024-10-24 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Please join us on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 2 PM as we focus on “Evidence-based Practices to Prevent Overdose: National Findings from the HEALing Communities Study and Its Local Impact.” One can register for this free, virtual event, here.
Featuring Alexander Y. Walley, MD, MSc, Care Continuum Core Director, HEALing Communities Study, Massachusetts Medical Director, Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, and Professor, Boston University Avedisian & Chobanian School of Medicine, participants will learn about the
1) HEALing Communities Study’s implementation and findings.
2) Learnings from the Franklin County/North Quabbin context and Action Plan.
3) Proposed next step effort and innovations.
Launched in 2019, the HEALing Communities Study was a bold experiment. Part of its approach was to invest 343.7 million dollars in 67 communities across the four states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio to reduce opioid-related fatalities using various strategies to implement three goals:
1) increasing naloxone distribution and overdose prevention education,
2) increasing access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and
3) improving opioid prescribing safety. Massachusetts had 16 communities participating in the study, of which the four Franklin County and North Quabbin communities of Athol, Greenfield, Montague, and Orange were combined into one community cluster.
Part of the Opioid Task Force’s 2024 HEALing Communities Study Lessons Learned Educational Series.

The Good Samaritan Law: How It Works and Why It's Important
2024-10-30 13:00 - 14:00
Please join us on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 1 PM as we learn more about “The Good Samaritan Law: How It Works and Why It’s Important” with Becky Michaels, Assistant District Attorney and Director of Community Prosecution Projects with the Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan’s Office.
One can register for this free event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlcuuupz0pGdBsquWDguJfANJeATo8tmiM
There can be considerable confusion about the intent of the Good Samaritan Law, which was designed to shield individuals from liability if they make a mistake when helping someone in need. Using the Good Samaritan Law is especially important when responding to overdose in a variety of settings. This session will help broaden our understanding of its aims.
This is part of the 2024-2025 CONNECT Education and Training Series.
CONNECT is a post-opioid overdose community outreach and follow-up initiative that launched on July 1, 2021. It is an interdisciplinary project overseen by the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.
Collaborative partners include:

30 municipal police, fire, and EMS departments of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region
Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region, Inc.
Community Health Center of Franklin County
Kelley Research Associates
North Quabbin Community Coalition
North Quabbin Recovery Center
Tapestry
The RECOVER Project Questions?

Please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, CONNECT’s Outreach Manager, at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

Virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan Training
2024-10-31 14:00 - 15:00
Don’t be a ghoul! Join us to learn how to save a life at an upcoming virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training facilitated by Tapestry on Halloween, Thursday, October 31, 2024, from 2 PM to 3 PM. You can register using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdO-oqjspE9Lr5EtPtVqy4ZVOJcj7XlAT.

Can’t make it next week? We have two other sessions planned for this fall. They will be held on:

Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 2 PM. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdO-oqjspE9Lr5EtPtVqy4ZVOJcj7XlAT
Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 1 PM. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdO-oqjspE9Lr5EtPtVqy4ZVOJcj7XlAT

(Please note that we use the same registration link, and you can select which session you’d like to attend.)

Participants will learn the answers to these questions:

-What is an opioid overdose?
-How do you recognize and respond to an opioid overdose?
-How do you administer Narcan to reverse an opioid overdose?

Questions? Feel free to reach out at narcan@opioidtaskforce.org.

This is part of our 2024 virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training series, which is organized by Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.

Treatment & Recovery Committee Meeting
2024-11-01 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-12-06 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Treatment & Recovery Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.

Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2024-11-06 11:00 - 12:00, 2024-12-04 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Harm Reduction Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Treatment & Recovery Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager/CONNECT at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

Help When It’s Needed Most: Addiction Consult Services at Baystate Franklin Medical Center
2024-11-07 14:00 - 15:00
Substance use disorder is a complex brain disease and can present itself differently in each individual, especially in emergency and other in-patient medical settings. Please join us virtually on Thursday, November 7, 2024, at 2 PM to learn more about how Baystate Franklin Medical Center offers an array of Addiction Consult Services (ACS) to help when needed most to ensure the best health outcome. One can register for this free event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMuf-CurD4jHtCOCGDXe6c1BHhxML76vZCY
Featuring:

Jodi Stack, President/Chief Operating Officer, Baystate Franklin Medical Center
Dr. Rakesh Talati, Chief/Medical Director, Baystate Franklin Medical Center Emergency Department
Dr. Adam Chamberlain, Medical Director for Addiction Services, Baystate Franklin Medical Center
Dr. Ruth Potee, Medical Director, Opioid Task Force and Medical Director for Addiction Services, Behavioral Health Network
Rachel Katz, NP director, Addiction Services, FOH Medical Respite, Clinical & Support Options
Tiarra Fisher, PhD. Student, New York University, and former HEALing Communities Study Community Coordinator

This one-hour session will discuss:
1) Why the formation of the ACS was important
2) How it happened initially with HEALing Communities Study funding
3) How ACS is being used
4) How the model has been expanded to the other rural hospitals under Baystate Health
5) How the model can be replicated in other rural areas as part of documented research
This is part of the 2024 Franklin County/North Quabbin HEALing Communities Study Lessons Learned Education Services.

Healthcare Solutions Committee
2024-11-08 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Healthcare Solutions Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.

Education & Prevention Committee Meeting
2024-11-12 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-12-10 09:30 - 11:00
Please join us for our Education & Prevention Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Virtual Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training
2024-11-14 14:00 - 15:00
Join us to learn how to save a life at an upcoming virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training facilitated by Tapestry on Thursday, November 14, 2024, from 2 PM to 3 PM. You can register using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdO-oqjspE9Lr5EtPtVqy4ZVOJcj7XlAT.

Can’t make it? We have one other session planned for this fall. It will be held on:

Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 1 PM. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdO-oqjspE9Lr5EtPtVqy4ZVOJcj7XlAT

(Please note that we use the same registration link, and you can select which session you’d like to attend.)

Participants will learn the answers to these questions:
-What is an opioid overdose?
-How do you recognize and respond to an opioid overdose?
-How do you administer Narcan to reverse an opioid overdose?

Questions? Feel free to reach out at narcan@opioidtaskforce.org.

This is part of our 2024 virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training series, which is organized by Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.

Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force Meeting
2024-11-18 09:30 - 10:45, 2024-12-09 09:30 - 10:45
Please join our monthly meeting to discuss the emergency needs of unhoused individuals in the Franklin County and North Quabbin Region. To learn more about how to participate, please contact Kristen Pease, Program Associate and Project Manager/ARISE Initiative, at kristen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Workgroup Meeting
2024-11-18 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-12-09 13:00 - 14:00
Please join us for the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Workgroup meeting, co-facilitated by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Opioid Task Force. For more information on how to join, please email Karen Carmona, Program Associate/OTF at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

A Matter of Life and Death: A Ten-Year Look at Opioid-Related Fatalities and Trends with Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan
2024-11-21 14:00 - 15:00
Join us as we examine the sobering data showing opioid-related fatalities between 2012 and 2023, which have claimed the lives of 280 residents in Franklin County and Athol, with Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan on Thursday, November 21, from 2 PM – 3 PM. One can register for this free event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEuf-qoqjsuHtKckDmfdx1nrI-ibtTlA2TY.
DA Sullivan, one of the founding co-chairs of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region, will present the data his office collects every year on opioid-related deaths. This presentation will also reveal where these deaths have occurred in Franklin County and Athol, as well as what ages and genders are most affected.
There will also be a brief overview of the CONNECT Program, launched in July 2021. CONNECT is Franklin County and North Quabbin’s post-opioid overdose follow-up and community outreach program, designed to provide support and services within 72 hours of an opioid overdose.
This is part of the 2024-2025 CONNECT Education and Training Series.
For more information, please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager, for CONNECT at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

Public Safety & Justice Committee Meeting
2024-12-02 13:00 - 14:00
Please join us for our Public Safety & Justice Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager/CONNECT at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

Liberating Methadone: What This Means; Why It's Important
2024-12-05 14:00 - 15:00
Please join us as we welcome national experts Caty Simon (National Survivors Union), Jordan Scott (Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Network), and Dr. Noa Krawczyk (Grossman School of Medicine/New York University) from the National Coalition to Liberate Methadone as they share their advocacy, policy, and findings from their 2023 National Liberating Methadone Conference on Thursday, December 5, 2024, from 2 PM – 3 PM.
You can register for this free virtual event here.

Attendees will learn more about the following:

History and impact of methadone to treat opioid use disorder
Advocacy efforts to ensure methadone is more widely available and equitably accessed
Recommendations from the Liberating Methadone Conference on ways to expand access to this life-saving medication

This is part of the Opioid Task Force’s 2024 Education and Training Services, sponsored by the Opioid Task Force’s Methadone Workgroup, co-chaired by Dr. Ruth Potee and Dr. Steve Jones (retired).
A flyer is attached, so please help us spread the word.
Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us at info@opioidtaskforce.org.
This is part of the Opioid Task Force’s 2024 Education and Training Services, sponsored by the Opioid Task Force’s Methadone Workgroup, co-chaired by Dr. Ruth Potee and Dr. Steve Jones (retired).

CAM Workgroup Meeting
2024-12-10 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Complementary & Alternative Medicines (CAM) Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Healthcare Solutions Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Virtual Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training
2024-12-12 13:00 - 14:00
Join us to learn how to save a life at an upcoming virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training facilitated by Tapestry on Thursday, December 12, 2024, from 1 PM to 2 PM. You can register using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdO-oqjspE9Lr5EtPtVqy4ZVOJcj7XlAT.

Participants will learn the answers to these questions:

-What is an opioid overdose?
-How do you recognize and respond to an opioid overdose?
-How do you administer Narcan to reverse an opioid overdose?

Questions? Feel free to reach out at narcan@opioidtaskforce.org.

This is part of our 2024 virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training series, which is organized by Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.

Methadone Workgroup Meeting
2024-12-12 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us for our Methadone Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Healthcare Solutions Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.

Housing & Workforce Development Committee Meeting
2024-12-13 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Housing & Workforce Development Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Kristen Pease, Program Associate and Project Manager/ARISE Initiative at kristen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Building a Resilient Community Workgroup Meeting
2024-12-18 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Building a Resilient Community Workgroup, a project of OTF’s Education & Prevention Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Nitazenes and Other Drug Trends
2024-12-18 13:00 - 14:30
Please join us as we welcome Dr. Traci Green and other members of her team to discuss “Nitazenes and Other Drug Trends” on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, from 1 PM to 2:30 PM. You can register for this free event here.
Nitazenes are a type of synthetic opioid that is unapproved for medical use. They range in potency and have started to show up in the illicit drug supply in the Commonwealth and elsewhere in the United States. During the presentation, Dr. Green will also discuss Xylazine, Medetomidine, BTMPS, and other drug trends being monitored across the state.
During this training, participants will learn about the substances being found in the Massachusetts drug supply, their associated health effects, and how they impact overdose and overdose response.
Dr. Green, a nationally recognized epidemiologist, is the Director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative (OPRC) housed at Brandeis University. Her research explores drug use, opioid use disorder, and drug-related injury.
This is part of the 2024-2025 CONNECT Education and Training Series. CONNECT is Franklin County and the North Quabbin’s post-opioid overdose community outreach and follow-up initiative.

Help is Here! Community Legal Aid's Disability Benefits Project
2024-12-19 14:00 - 15:00
Please join Attorney Katie Madison of Community Legal Aid to learn more about their Disability Benefits Project, now available for Franklin and Hampshire County residents, at a virtual information session scheduled for Thursday, December 19, 2024, from 2 PM – 3 PM. You can register for this free event here.

Community Legal Aid’s Disability Benefits Project supports individuals in making SSI and SSDI appeals in person or via Zoom. They can take on the following cases, assuming capacity and merit:

Applications for SSDI and SSI disability at the Request for Reconsideration and Hearing Levels.
Continuing Disability Reviews.
Non-disability financial issues, including overpayments, SSA misattributing wages in cases of identity theft, termination from benefits due to excess resources, putting beneficiaries in the wrong living arrangement, and eligibility for other SSA benefits (dependents, survivors, etc.).
State Supplement Program (SSP) denials, terminations, overpayments, and underpayments.
Language access issues, including inadequate interpretation and translation of notices, especially in languages other than Spanish.

This is part of the Opioid Task Force’s 2024 Education and Training Series.

Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2025-01-08 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Harm Reduction Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Treatment & Recovery Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager/CONNECT, at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

Joint Treatment & Recovery Committee and Healthcare Solutions Committee Meeting
2025-01-10 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for a joint meeting of the Treatment & Recovery and Healthcare Solutions Committees. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF, at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.

Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force Meeting
2025-01-13 09:30 - 10:30
Please join our monthly meeting to discuss the emergency needs of unhoused individuals in the Franklin County and North Quabbin Region. To learn more about how to participate, please contact Kristen Pease, Program Associate and Project Coordinator/The HUB Project, at kristen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Workgroup Meeting
2025-01-13 13:00 - 14:00
Please join us for the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Workgroup meeting, co-facilitated by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Opioid Task Force. For more information on how to join, please email Karen Carmona, Program Associate, Opioid Task Force, at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.
