Health Care District Leaders Participate in Opioid Healthcare Response Recommendation

The Palm Beach County Medical Society and Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition (HERC) rolled out its joint recommendations to reduce the number of opioid deaths in the county at a meeting in West Palm Beach on Friday, May 18, 2018.  The Health Care District was actively involved in the Opioid Healthcare Response Task Force that met over a six-month period to devise a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy that recognizes addiction as a medical illness. The meeting drew health care leaders and officials from across the county and nation.   

Among the Health Care District’s attendees were Alina M. Alonso, MD, Director of the Department of Health in Palm Beach County and Health Care District Board Member; Belma Andric, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer; Courtney Rowling, MD, Board Certified Adult Psychiatrist and Director of Behavioral Health, C.L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics; and Marc Schlosser, MD, C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics. The Task Force plans to publish its final report this summer.

From left to right: Belma Andric, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer; Courtney Rowling, MD, Board Certified Adult Psychiatrist and Director of Behavioral Health, C.L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics; Robert Moran, MD, CEO and Medical Director, Family Center for Recovery; Greg McNeil, who lost his son to heroin and is an advocate for families dealing with opioid dependence; and John L. Hulick, Senior Program Manager of Palm Beach County’s Opioid/Substance Abuse Prevention Program.