Please join us for the kick-off of the HEALing Communities Study in our rural region as part of the Opioid Task Force’s Healthcare Solutions Committee meeting, co-chaired by Dr. Ruth Potee and Dr. Kinan Hrieb, on Friday, January 28, 2022, from 10 AM – 12 Noon, via Zoom. If you are able to attend, please RSVP, here. You can find the Zoom link, here. Help us spread the word! A poster has been attached as PDF and image files.
Massachusetts is one of four states, along with Ohio, Kentucky, and New York, nationally selected to participate in this pioneering effort to reduce opioid-related fatalities by 40% during the study period. Athol, Greenfield, Montague, and Orange comprise one of Massachusetts’ sixteen sites participating in the study. The other Massachusetts communities involved in this effort include Holyoke, Pittsfield, North Adams, Springfield, Belchertown/Ware, Lawrence, Lowell, Shirley/Townsend, Gloucester, Salem, Brockton, Weymouth, Berkley/Dighton/Freetown, Plymouth, and Bourne/Sandwich. (See map below.)
The Massachusetts HEALing Communities Study is managed by the Boston Medical Center and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region (Opioid Task Force) will be working with them to implement the identified strategies for this life-saving effort for our rural area. We are fortunate to have Jerry Lund, a member of the Opioid Task Force as our representative on the HEALing Communities Study Community Advisory Board (CAB). Previously, we were also fortunate to have Peggy Vezina act in this capacity.
The goals of this first meeting in Phase 0 are to meet community partners, provide an overview of the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) and the Communities That HEAL (CTH) Intervention, introduce logistics of the HCS, introduce some of the Boston Medical Center’s HCS team and key points of contact, and answer questions.
Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us at info@opioidtaskforce.org.
We hope you can join us to contribute your knowledge and expertise related to combatting the opioid crisis in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region!