Accomplishments
J. Craig Allen, MD
J. Craig Allen, MD, Rushford Medical Director, was named the Governor’s appointee to the Advisory Board for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. He was also named to the state’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Committee and, nationally, was appointed to the Medical Advisory Council for the National Council of Behavioral Health.
Samuel Silverman, MD
Samuel Silverman, MD, Rushford Director of Medical Education, was named President of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Dr. Allen and Dr. Silverman
Dr. Allen and Dr. Silverman served as addiction experts for the American Academy of Pediatrics Chapter Quality Network’s Practice Improvement to Address Adolescent Substance Use (PIAASU).
"The Brain and Addiction"
Dr. Silverman presented “The Brain and Addiction” at the Foundation for Community Health Annual Meeting in Lakeville CT (along with Patrick O’Conner, MD, chairman of The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven) and at the “Pain and Addiction” Conference.
Dr. Silverman, Dr. Allen and Deborah Weidner, MD
Dr. Silverman, Dr. Allen and Deborah Weidner, MD (medical director at Natchaug Hospital), established a third year medical student rotation in Psychiatry for the Frank H. Netter school of Medicine at Quinnipiac University.
Vincent McClain, MD
Vincent McClain, MD, Rushford assistant medical director for Residential Addiction Services, was named vice president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and continued as the Medical Review Officer (MRO) for Haven, an independent care and monitoring center for clinical care providers struggling with addiction issues.
A Curriculum for Safe Opioid Prescribing
Allen, Silverman and McClain were named to the Hartford Healthcare task force charged with developing a curriculum for safe opioid prescribing.
Dr. Hassan Dinakar
Dr. Hassan Dinakar, associate medical director of the Community Behavioral Health Center, began providing Medication Assisted Treatment for Medicaid clients in in the Meriden Wallingford catchment area
ASAM Educational
For the fifth year, Drs. Silverman, McClain and Allen, in collaboration with the CSMS and the American Society of Addiction Medicine, held the “ASAM Educational.” For the third year, they took part in the Combined Fellowship Journal Club (Yale/Rushford).
Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
Rushford’s Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program was formally recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and expanded to include Natchaug Hospital doubling in size by graduating two Fellows in 2016: Christopher Reveley, MD, and Mohammed Ahmer Siddiqui, MD.
Members of the Rushford leadership team were recognized by the Hartford HealthCare Board of Directors in February for the organization’s work addressing the opioid and heroin addiction epidemic, particularly for educating providers on the life-saving benefits of naloxone (the opioid overdose reversal medication) and the ease with which laypersons can be trained to administer naloxone in an emergency. In addition, the team was recognized for its role in providing education in proper pain medication prescribing and expanding access to medication- assisted treatment. Shown here are, from left: Brian W. MacLean, Chairman of the HHC Board; J. Craig Allen, MD, Rushford Medical Director; Patricia Rehmer, President of the Behavioral Health Network and Senior Vice President of Hartford HealthCare; and Elliot Joseph, President and CEO of Hartford HealthCare.