A Resource for Healthcare and Social Services Professionals
August 29, 2023
12:00 pm–1:30 pm ET
This training will review the burden of disease and the impact of alcohol in the United States. It will discuss quit strategies and clinical approaches to reduction in alcohol use. It will also address strategies to reduce harm associated with binge consumption of alcohol. The impact of alcohol on other SUD treatment will be discussed and the use of medications for alcohol use disorder will be reviewed.
Via Zoom
This training will review the burden of disease and the impact of alcohol in the United States. It will discuss quit strategies and clinical approaches to reduction in alcohol use. It will also address strategies to reduce harm associated with binge consumption of alcohol. The impact of alcohol on other SUD treatment will be discussed and the use of medications for alcohol use disorder will be reviewed.
The harm reduction series is a 10-part education series for healthcare providers and SUD treatment programs to better understand Harm Reduction principles and harm reduction strategies as best practice in SUD treatment. The series will provide participants with an hour long didactic with a 30 minute Q+A. Each session is taught by an educator from the Grayken TTA team and an expert community member with boots on the ground experience in the specific topic area. Participants may attend all sessions or select specific courses. Continuing education credits are offered for each session.
Code of Conduct
Participation in our trainings is free and voluntary. We require responsible behavior and respect towards other participants, members of our staff and all presenters. Grayken TTA treats all forms of abuse, bullying, intimidation, sexist, and racist behavior very seriously. You must not engage in any anti-social behavior or abuse of any kind towards other learners, staff and presenters.
If your behavior is inappropriate in any way, staff will immediately mute microphone/stop video/stop chat access as needed, and place you in the waiting room to warn you that if the behavior continues, you will be removed from the session. IF behavior is serious enough you will be immediately removed from the session, and your access to any future sessions may be withdrawn. Grayken TTA, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to remove any participant from or deny access to any program for inappropriate behavior.
Medical providers, nurses, social workers, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors (LADC), Certified Alcohol/Drug Counselors (CADC), Community Health Workers (CHW), recovery coaches, counselors, Licensed Mental health Counselors (LMHC), and members of the community.
Azure is a registered nurse at Boston Medical Center with over 20 years of experience in trauma and intensive care. She is a graduate of the Grayken Addiction Nursing Fellowship program, the first Addiction Nursing fellowship of its kind in the United States, where she received specialized training in caring for patients with Substance Use Disorder (SUD), co-occurring disorders, educating individuals on harm reduction practices, and providing trauma-informed care. She was also a Clinical Care Manager in an NIH-funded trial to increase initiation and engagement in treatment for persons diagnosed with Alcohol Use Disorder in primary care settings. Azure serves as a consultant for BMC's Grayken Center for Addiction Training & Technical Assistance and has contributed to the development and delivery of continuing education programs covering topics such as the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome in the ICU, SUD 101 for new graduate nurses, and supporting healthcare professionals who have or are experiencing SUD. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and maintains various certifications, including Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN), NIH Stroke Scale Certification (NIHSSC), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), and Trauma Nursing Core Course Certification.
Vanessa Loukas, MSN, FNP-C, CARN-APVanessa is a clinical nurse educator for Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and a nurse practitioner at Boston Medical Center. She has expertise in managing substance use disorders, co-occurring psychiatric conditions, and infectious diseases in primary care settings. Her clinical interests include harm reduction, low-barrier treatment, medical addiction groups, and improving care for persons involved in the criminal-legal system. Through her primary role on the Grayken TTA team, Vanessa contributes to peer-reviewed publications, evidence-based clinical guidelines, development and delivery of continuing education programs, and other resources for providers supporting patients with substance use disorders. Prior to joining the Grayken TTA team, Vanessa practiced as a nurse practitioner and was the program director for the addiction treatment program at the South End Community Health Center, caring for high-risk patients with substance use disorders and psychiatric diagnoses. Her work integrated harm reduction, on-demand treatment, infectious disease treatment, and medical addiction groups including within the male/female re-entry/recovery units at the Suffolk County House of Corrections. Vanessa received her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Simmons University and is a Certified Addiction Registered Nurse – Advanced Practice (CARN-AP) through the Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB).
Following this training, participants will have the knowledge necessary to:
Boston Medical Center Grayken Center for Addiction TTA, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (DPH/BSAS)
Funding for out of state attendees is provided by the Opioid Response Network (ORN).
Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI083343 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
In support of improving patient care, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 1.50 general continuing education credits.
Boston Medical Center is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Association Massachusetts, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Participants who complete and return the evaluation and stay for the entire session will be awarded 1.50 contact hours.
BMC Grayken Center of Addiction TTA has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7188. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. BMC Grayken Center of Addiction TTA is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. For this program, 1.50 contact hours will be offered to participants who attend the training and complete the evaluation.
Grayken Center for Addiction TTA is approved to offer LADC/CADCs and recovery coaches who complete this course 1.50 general continuing education credits.
Continuing education (CE) requirements vary by license and jurisdiction. When requesting continuing education credits, please ensure you are following the rules and regulations determined by the board regulating your license. Boston Medical Center Grayken Center for Addiction TTA does not oversee adherence to licensing requirements and regulations.
Grayken Center for Addiction TTA is a program of Boston Medical Center (BMC), a 514-bed academic medical center located in Boston's historic South End and the largest safety-net hospital in New England.
The content on this site and the content presented by Grayken Center for Addiction TTA is intended solely to inform and educate healthcare and social service professionals, and shall not be used for medical advice and is not a substitute for the advice or treatment of a qualified medical professional. The hospital, the program, and the contributors are not acting as health care providers or professional consultants on behalf of any specific patient and disclaim establishing a provider-patient relationship with any specific patient.