JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – East Tennessee State University has been awarded a prestigious national honor related to the institution’s efforts in battling the opioid epidemic ripping through the United States and hitting particularly hard in areas of Central Appalachia.
The U.S. Public Health Service and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative recognized ETSU with the 2018 Public Health Excellence in Interprofessional Education Collaboration award earlier this month. The award was given to the team at ETSU for its “innovative approach to community and public health practice” with an emphasis on addressing social determinants of health and health equity.
ETSU was recognized for its strong community focus on the prevention and treatment of substance abuse throughout East Tennessee and the region.
“ETSU’s dedicated and remarkable multi-year effort embodies a national model for how communities, campuses and providers can and should partner together to solve complex public health challenges,” said Rear Admiral Dr. Pamela M. Schweitzer of the U.S. Public Health Service. “Through collective action and meaningful collaboration, we can better promote and advance the health and safety of our nation.”
ETSU’s work to address the opioid crisis exemplified excellence in interprofessional collaboration, community engagement, outreach scholarship and evidence-based clinical service, according to organization leaders. ETSU’s efforts primarily are coordinated by the university’s Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment, in close collaboration with the institution’s interdisciplinary, community-based Prescription Drug Abuse Working Group, which has grown to 250 members since its establishment in 2012.
Projects implemented by the Center include multiple state, federal and foundation grant awards, more than 75 invited educational presentations made across the state and nation, dozens of informational and policy briefings, and a growing list of peer-reviewed journal articles.
In 2017, ETSU entered into a unique non-profit clinical partnership with Ballad Health to deliver comprehensive medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder to the region, called Overmountain Recovery. The clinic represents an innovative non-profit partnership model for sustainable treatment and preventive services. Frontier Health is also a key partner, providing professional counseling services to the clients.
The partnership approach has been recognized as innovative, resulting in national attention that includes a presentation to the U.S. Congress, visits by the U.S. Surgeon General, the Director of the Food and Drug Administration and numerous other policy makers, the nomination of Dr. Nick Hagemeier to the H.H.S. Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, and this recent U.S. Public Health Service award.
“It is rewarding and humbling to see that national entities like the U.S. Public Health Service and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative are recognizing the work happening here at ETSU through our Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment,” said Dr. Robert Pack, the center’s executive director and a faculty member and associate dean in ETSU’s College of Public Health. “This award goes a long way in reinforcing the value in our work and its significance across the country.”
ETSU project members will be recognized by the IPEC Council in June at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learning Center in Washington, D.C.