Warwick Beacon: CCRI to host symposium on opioid alternatives

Warwick Beacon: CCRI to host symposium on opioid alternatives

SOURCE: Warwick Beacon

WARWICK, R.I. – The Community College of Rhode Island’s health sciences departments will host the second in a series of awareness events about the pre-eminent public health crisis of our time – opioid addiction.

The Non-Opioid Pain Treatment Symposium will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28, in Room 4080 at the college’s Knight Campus, 400 East Ave., Warwick. The event is free of charge and open to all.

The symposium will present data the Rhode Island Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force has collected about the crisis. Two panel discussions will follow. The first includes Rhode Island public officials charged with action steps to reduce drug-related dependency and deaths. During the second panel, medical professionals will present data about the success of non-opioid pain treatment therapies.

The symposium will encourage discussion about changing the culture of pain management and promote evidence-based non-opioid therapies for chronic pain, such as clinical massage therapy, acupuncture, physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic care, neuropathic medicine and behavioral therapy.

“The goal of the symposium is share the size and impact of the crisis in Rhode Island and what we are doing about it,” said Regina Cobb, director of CCRI’s Therapeutic Massage program. “Health professionals who attend will better understand their role and the evidence-based interventions they can use for pain management.”

Dr. James McDonald, chief administrative officer, Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline at the Rhode Island Department of Health, will moderate the panels.

The first panel on understanding the crisis will include Peter Neronha, candidate for Rhode Island attorney general; Tom Coderre, senior adviser to the governor and co-chair of the Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force; Linda Hurley, CODAC Behavioral Healthcare; Joee Lindbeck, assistant attorney general; and Lt. Cmdr. Kasim Yarn, director of veterans affairs in Rhode Island.

Panel two, featuring pain management practitioners speaking about non-opioid pain treatment approaches, includes Victoria Moutahir, massage therapist; Charlotte King, acupuncturist; Chrysanthi Kazantzis, naturopathic doctor; Jason Harvey, physical therapist; Nancy Dooley, occupational therapist; Alan Post, chiropractic services; and Dr. Ellen Flynn, Brown’s Mindfulness Center.

U.S. Rep. James Langevin, who has supported and co-sponsored multiple pieces of legislation aimed at ending the opioid crisis, will provide closing remarks.

“Rhode Island is among the states hardest hit by the opioid overdose epidemic. We need federal resources for treatment and recovery to help families struggling on the front lines of this public health crisis,” Langevin said. “But we must also work to halt addiction before it takes root. I look forward to this symposium to learn more about evidence-based non-opioid treatment alternatives and their use in managing pain.”

All participants who complete the session will receive a certificate of completion that can be used to apply for CEUs for various disciplines such as social work, peer certification and more. Learn more about the symposium and register online at www.ccri.edu/rehabhealth/opioidsymposium.

URI Today: U.S. Rep. James Langevin to host Coastal Resiliency Symposium at the University of Rhode Island

URI Today: U.S. Rep. James Langevin to host Coastal Resiliency Symposium at the University of Rhode Island

KINGSTON, R.I., — U.S. Rep. James Langevin, along with a number of University of Rhode Island experts, will convene for a symposium on the topic of extreme weather conditions, including storm surge and flooding, as they affect military installations and the Rhode Island coastline.

URI faculty with expertise in storm modelling and mapping, response and resiliency, ocean and civil engineering, and geologic oceanography will participate in the symposium to be held Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 10:30 a.m. to 12: 30 p.m., in Corless Auditorium at URI’s Bay Campus, 215 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island. Registration is at 9:30 a.m.

A 2018 Department of Defense study indicated that more than half of the 3,500 U.S. military’s sites located both in the U.S. and internationally are affected by instances of extreme weather.  Storm surge, here in Rhode Island as well as other coastal regions, can be a particular risk, with more than 200 domestic sites alone reporting flooding—an increase of more than 500 percent over the number reported in 2008.

Rear Admiral (Ret.) Jonathan W. White, former commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanographic Command, will deliver the keynote address. White has a B.S. in oceanographic technology from the Florida Institute of Technology and holds a master’s degree in meteorology and oceanography from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

He was commissioned through Navy Officer Candidate School in 1983, and has had operational shore assignments at Jacksonville, Florida; Guam; Monterey, California; and Stuttgart, Germany, where his joint duty included Special Operations Command Europe, and strike plans officer for U.S. European Command during Operation Allied Force in Kosovo and Serbia. White commanded the Naval Training Meteorology and Oceanography Facility, Pensacola, Florida, and was the 50th superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory.

White’s sea tours as a naval oceanographer include commander, Cruiser Destroyer Group 12, where he completed deployments on board USS Saratoga (CV 60) and USS Wasp (LHD 1). He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (upper half) in August 2012 as he assumed his duties as director, Task Force Climate Change, and Navy deputy to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Rear Admiral White retired in 2015. He presently serves as president and CEO of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.

Symposium panelists and topics are:

  • Christopher D.P. Baxter, professor, ocean, civil and environmental engineering— “Engineering’s Role in Resiliency and Educating the Next Generation.”
  • Austin Becker, assistant professor, coastal planning, policy and design— “Stimulating Transformational Thinking for Long-Term Climate Resilience.”
  • John King, professor, geological oceanography— “Climate Model Predictions and Trends in Observational Data for Coastal Environments.”
  • Pamela Rubinoff, coastal management and climate extension specialist, Coastal Resources Center and Rhode Island Sea Grant— “Engaging Decision Makers in Resilience.”

Congressman Langevin, URI President David M. Dooley, and URI’s Vice President for Research and Economic Development Peter J. Snyder will speak at the symposium.

The event is free and open to the public, however, registration is suggested. For more information, and registration link, visit: uri.edu/coastalresilience.