9 episodes
Battling Two Frontiers: Substance Use Epidemic during a Pandemic Veterans Health Administration
-
- Health & Fitness
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
Dr. Michal Wilson, Medical Advisor, VHA Homeless Programs Office, moderates a series of podcasts featuring various subject matter experts from VHA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emergency Medicine, Pharmacy Academic Detailing Services and Veteran first responders. The podcast series is focused on advancing awareness, access to naloxone and aftercare to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with opioid use disorder.
For several years our nation has been in an opioid epidemic with escalating usage, overdoses, and deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic created significant additional challenges in combatting the opioid epidemic necessitating increased awareness and creative approaches to identify, outreach, engage and treat Veterans. Homeless Veterans have a high risk for opioid overdose and resultant death, which require unique and targeted strategies. This series will explore strategies VHA is engaging and challenges faced in the midst of battling two intersecting crises of the pandemic and the substance use epidemic.
-
Overdoses and How We Can Save Lives
High Risk Population and Action Oriented, VA OEND National Coordinators Insight into VA’s Approach to reaching this important population at a very high-risk time of quarantine. Overdose prevention is more important than ever with challenges in accessing healthcare and disruption daily structure of recovery for many veterans suffering with SUD.
-
No Wrong Door to Receive Substance Use Disorder Care
One might ask what is different about VA’s approach to SUD care and our guest this week will share what we are currently seeing as well as the vision of No Wrong Door built through expanding SUD expertise across the organization and infrastructure through the stepped care model for SUD care.
-
Catalyzing Practice Change to Save Lives
How Knowledge Translation conducted through face to face visits by pharmacist across the system transformed how people felt about naloxone and their role in prescribing is key to why VHA has invested in outreach to clinical staff for important safety initiatives for veterans.
-
Leveraging Data to Improve Quality of Care
Using risk assessment and population health resources to help us in the war against the opioid epidemic has become a standard part of VA practice. We are using population health tools across many disease management areas to alert us to opportunities for outreach both to veterans and healthcare teams to offer care.
-
Anchors of Hope: Public Health Suicide Prevention in VA
In general, Veterans have been shown to have higher rates of suicide than their non-Veteran peers. VA has made suicide prevention, substance use disorder treatment, and drug overdose interventions a priority. In this episode we will hear from Aimee Johnson who leads innovation on Suicide Prevention efforts for Veterans on new strategies VA has made in impacting suicide prevention with a public health approach.
-
Working Outside Lines: Social Workers, Outreach Education and Creating New Connections
Talking about outreach, getting to the patients in the community reaching them outside of their regularly scheduled visit and inviting them into care. What does that look like with partnerships in the VA system.