AHCJ DC Chapter Event: Writing About Public Health

Experts from the Altarum Institute will discuss public health issues involving the opioid crisis, aging policies and children's health. Altarum’s experts talk about the stories that have been undercovered, the sources reporters should be calling and their ideas for what solutions need to be better explored by the media.

The conversation will be moderated by Tina Reed, health care reporter for the Washington Business Journal.

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The U.S. is facing several serious public health challenges under increasing fiscal pressures. Chief among them is the opioid crisis and related substance use and misuse. Affecting more than 21 million Americans and with overdose deaths rising to almost 60,000 people in 2016, these issues deserve our immediate attention. Politicians and policy makers are taking some action, but is it enough and aimed at the right targets?

Additionally, the population of frail elders is surging, and will continue to increase rapidly in the next decade, putting a strain on an already inadequate system of supports and leaving millions of elderly people without access to basic needs, such as help preparing meals, bathing, maintaining decent living standards, and getting medical attention when needed. Moreover, this surging population will require billions more in Medicaid funding, perhaps at the expense of other Medicaid spending.

Experts in long-term care, behavioral health and health disparity will provide an overview of these challenges and share proven—but largely unknown or overlooked—program models that hold promise, and are already yielding results in some communities and states. Examples include:

• Elder care. Dramatic expansion of PACE in pilot programs, the nonprofit MediCaring Communities model to enable communities to monitor and manage elder care, and mobilizing caregivers as a political force.

• Opioids. Innovative and emerging practices by states and communities, from physician education programs to long-term recovery support models.

• Children’s health. A new program that engages community physicians in performing comprehensive oral health shows how care can always be improved when there’s a willingness to craft a lasting solution.

Speakers will also examine obstacles to these solutions—political and pragmatic—and how they can be overcome. They also will share stories that have been undercovered, the sources reporters should be calling, and their ideas for what solutions need to be better explored by the media.

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SPEAKER BIOS
Tom Coderre, Senior Advisor

Tom Coderre serves as senior advisor of Altarum’s Behavioral Health Technical Assistance Center, where he builds broad coalitions and networks of supports and services for substance use recovery at the state level. Appointed in 2014 by President Obama, Coderre most recently served as chief of staff and senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). While at SAMHSA, Tom led the team which produced “Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health,” the first report from a U.S. Surgeon General dedicated to this public health crisis.

Dr. Greg Makris

Greg Makris, MD, leads Altarum’s comprehensive medical education program designed to increase provider competency in prescribing opioids and screening patients for risk of misuse. The recently launched program is a joint providership with the University of Michigan Medical School and Health System, and is one of the first of its kind in the nation. The program is based on Altarum’s successful SmileConnect program, which employs a similar approach of changing the practices of physicians and other front-line clinical staff. Greg is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and has a bachelor’s of science and a medical doctorate from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.

Dr. Joanne Lynn, Director

Joanne Lynn, MD, is a geriatrician, hospice physician, health services researcher, quality improvement advisor, and policy advocate who has dedicated her career to shaping American health care so that every person can count on living comfortably and meaningfully through the period of serious illness and disability in the last years of life. As director of Altarum’s Center on Elder Care and Advanced Illness, she regularly advises state and community leaders around the nation who seek to implement a sustainable model of care for the surging population of frail elders.