Dr. Kelly J. Clark addressed national opioid epidemic at U.S. Conference of Mayors
Jun 29, 2016
Northampton, MA ? Kelly J. Clark, MD, MBA, DFAPA, DFASAM, Chief Medical Officer of CleanSlate Centers and President-Elect of the American Society of Addiction Medicine addressed the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) national Substance Abuse and Recovery Task Force at USCM Annual Meeting on June 26, 2016. Dr. Clark joined Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who chairs the Task Force, and Michael Botticelli, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to discuss ways to combat the addiction crisis facing every community across the country.
With more than 2.2 Million Americans suffering from opioid addiction, the Task Force meeting focused on identifying effective tools for addressing the national substance abuse epidemic. The Task Force is seeking to collaborate across America?s cities on ways to reduce substance abuse, increase access to treatment and improve treatment and recovery services.
?The use of prescription opioids or heroin changes the brain, which requires the medical community to treat addiction as the chronic brain disease that it is,? Dr. Clark said. ?It is essential that addiction medical providers work together with city and community leaders, other health care providers, and drug courts to use scare resources to expand access to evidence-based, individualized treatment for those struggling with the chronic disease of opioid addiction.?
The USCM Substance Abuse and Recovery Task Force was created in September 2015 in response to the rising addiction epidemic that affects cities and towns across the country.
About CleanSlate Centers
CleanSlate Centers was founded in 2009 in response to the growing opioid epidemic facing the country. A network of outpatient addiction treatment centers, CleanSlate provides compassionate, effective, medication assisted treatment and related therapies for patients who have addiction and associated disorders using the highest quality, evidence-based practices.
In recognition of their innovation and effectiveness, CleanSlate?s treatment programs received the inaugural 2008 Science and Service Award for Office-based Opioid Treatment by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA).
