Diseases of Despair

This is a past event

The Role of Policy and Law

Description

Anne Case and Angus Deaton shocked the world with their 2015 report that noted an increase in all-cause mortality among middle-aged white non-Hispanic men and women in the United States. This pattern is not occurring in other groups within the United States and Europe. Their report and others have linked this trend to so-called deaths of despair (death from suicide, chronic substance use, and overdoses) and their linkage to other determinants of health (education, labor markets, marital patterns). An update to the report makes it clear that this trend is no longer limited to any particular geographic region within the United States.

The 2018 NUSL Center for Health Policy and Law annual conference and associated scholarship brought together experts, policymakers, and academics to discuss the causes behind such trends, and to explore potential political, policy, and legal responses for addressing broader determinants that affect the physical and mental health of Americans dying from these diseases of despair. Deeper examination into similar patterns among diverse populations, as well as analysis of continuing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities, were central to the discourse.

This event was sponsored by the Center for Health Policy and Law at the Northeastern University School of Law. The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School was a cosponsor; for a full list of sponsors, please visit the Center for Health Policy and Law website.

Agenda

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Raytheon Amphitheater, Egan Research Center, Northeastern University, 120 Forsyth Street, Boston, MA

1:15 – 1:30pm, Welcome and Introduction

1:30 – 2:30pm, Remarks

The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy is a former member of the US House of Representatives and the nation’s leading political voice on mental illness, addiction, and other brain diseases. During his 16-year career representing Rhode Island in Congress, he fought a national battle to end medical and societal discrimination against these illnesses, highlighted by his lead sponsorship of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008–and his brave openness about his own health challenges.

The son of Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy, he decided to leave Congress not long after his father’s death to devote his career to advocacy for brain diseases and to create a new, healthier life and start a family. He has since founded the Kennedy Forum, which unites the community of mental health, and co-founded One Mind, a global leader in open science collaboration in brain research. Kennedy is also the co-author of “A Common Struggle,” which outlines both his personal story and a bold plan for the future of mental health in America. Representative Kennedy was appointed in May, 2017, to sit on the Trump administration’s Presidential Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crises.

Patrick is living in long term recovery from opiate addiction in New Jersey with his wife, Amy, and their four children.

2:30 – 4:00pm, Paper Workshop

4:00 – 5:00pm, Public Health Law Watch Community Discussion

This session began with a moderator-led discussion on how academics and lawyers can and should influence public health law and policy, with a few speakers offering their particular insights and highlighting examples of successful initiatives. Conference attendees and community members were invited to join the open conversation that followed.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC), Northeastern University, 39 Cunard Street, Boston, MA

8:00 – 8:45am, Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:45 – 9:00am, Welcome and Introduction

9:00 – 10:15am, Keynote

Michael Fraser is the executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the US territories, and the District of Columbia, as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. Prior to joining ASTHO, he served as the executive vice president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Medical Society in Harrisburg, PA. He served as CEO of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) from 2007 to 2013.

Prior to joining AMCHP, Michael was the deputy executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials from 2002 to 2007, and served in several capacities at the US Department of Health and Human Services, including positions at the Health Resources and Services Administration and the CDC. Michael received his doctorate and master’s degrees in sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a masters in management, strategy and leadership from the Eli Broad School of Business Michigan State University. He received his B.A. in sociology from Oberlin College in 1991. He is currently active in the American Society of Association Executives, serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, and an ex-officio member of the Public Health Accreditation Board.

10:15 – 11:30am, Morning Plenary: Diseases of Despair: Defining the Problem

11:30 – 11:45am, Break

11:45 AM – 1:00pm, Concurrent Panels I

Panel A: Opioids/Substance Use Disorder
Panel B: Violence
Panel C: Suicide

1:00 – 2:30pm, Lunch

Michael Botticelli is the executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at Boston Medical Center and a Distinguished Policy Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Prior to this, Michael was the Director of National Drug Control Policy for the Obama Administration. He joined the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as Deputy Director in November 2012 and later served as Acting Director. Mr. Botticelli has more than two decades of experience supporting Americans affected by substance use disorders. Prior to joining ONDCP, he served as Director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he successfully expanded innovative and nationally recognized prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He also forged strong partnerships with local, state, and Federal law enforcement agencies; state and local health and human service agencies; and stakeholder groups to guide and implement evidence-based programs.

Mr. Botticelli holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Siena College and a Master of Education degree from St. Lawrence University. He is also in long-term recovery from a substance use disorder, celebrating more than 28 years of recovery.

2:30 – 3:45pm, Afternooon Plenary: Disparate Discourses: The Persistence of Racial and Gender Disparities in Diseases of Despair

3:45 – 5:00pm, Concurrent Panels II

Panel A: State and Local Innovations
Panel B: Medical-Legal Partnerships
Panel C: Medicaid Innovation

5:00 – 6:30pm, Closing Reception

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This event was sponsored by the Center for Health Policy and Law at the Northeastern University School of Law. The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School was a cosponsor; for a full list of sponsors, please visit the Center for Health Policy and Law website.