Presented by: Kasey DeLynn Shakespear, Executive Director, Rural Health Association of Utah  

This presentation gave an insightful presentation on building cross-disciplinary partnerships to maximize resources and more effectively address Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in rural Utah. The audience discovered strategies for creating a community-centered approach that leverages the strengths of the existing rural workforce, and explored how advocacy can drive meaningful change in support of recovery efforts.

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Presented by: Ashley Yaugher, PhD and Cris Meier, PhD

This presentation highlights the essential role of community connections and coalition building in addressing substance use disorders. It emphasizes that prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts are most effective when communities collaborate and support one another and engage in a collective impact approach. Fostering strong community ties and building coalitions with collaboration among healthcare providers, law enforcement, recovery groups, public health, local organizations, people in recovery, and community members ensures that treatment is holistic and accessible, addressing both medical and social needs. By creating a network of resources, coalitions provide comprehensive support that promotes healthy impacts and long-term recovery. The collaborative approach not only enhances the well-being of those impacted by substance use disorders but also contributes to the overall resilience and vitality of the entire community. Strong communities help reduce stigma towards treatment, bolster prevention, and empower individuals in recovery. 

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Presented by: Shawna Sisler ,PhD, MS, MA, MAPP, RN, PNP and Jennifer L. Hamilton, APRN, CPNP-PC, DNP

This presentation covers the importance of lethal means restriction (LMR) strategies during imminent risk for suicidality. Participants will develop an awareness of common means and their respective lethality are vital in developing prevention strategies. Lethal means safety counseling is a specific evidence-based suicide prevention strategy that PNPs can use during patient encounters. Our health care communities need to be poised to develop education specific to their practice setting and patient population by integrating risk assessment for suicide, access to means, and counseling for prevention. By increasing this awareness and troubleshooting barriers together, this presentation helps providers and communities to incorporate the most up-to-date work in the field, as well as an increased awareness of opportunities to get involved in advocating for long-term policy change to improve overall mean reduction at the initial access point.

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Presented by: Robert Simpson, MD, FASAM, Medical Director of the Utah Professionals’ Health Program at the Utah Division of Professional Licensing

Dr. Simpson joined UPHP (Utah Professionals Health Program) in 2020 to serve as the Medical Director. Working in collaboration with the Program Manager, Dr. Simpson is responsible for UPHP’s clinical operations. In addition, he leads UPHP’s education and outreach efforts, and represents UPHP to the health care community. He continues to practice addiction medicine in Salt Lake City. Dr. Simpson is Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Utah. He received his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and completed his internship and residency at Baylor University Medical Center before moving to Utah in 2000 for fellowship training at the University of Utah. Dr. Simpson is a person in long-term recovery from substance use disorders and is an active member of Salt Lake’s recovery community.

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Presented by: Linda Edelman, RN, PhD, FGSA, FAAN and Josh Dallin, MS

Dr. Linda Edelman is the past director of the UROHC-CCM where she initiated training about Agricultural Stress through webinars and hosting LandLogic training for UROHC-CCM consortium members. Farmers and ranchers experience undue stress to factors often out of their control. This stress can manifest itself in ways that compromise mental health of individuals and families. Dr. Edelman will describe Agricultural (or Farm) Stress – what it is, why it happens, how to recognize and address it within rural community and health care settings. 

The USU Ag Wellness Program, led by Principal Investigator Josh Dallin, is dedicated to improving the mental health and well-being of farmers and ranchers throughout the state. By providing vital resources, training, and support, the program addresses the unique challenges faced in the agricultural sector. Through workshops and outreach initiatives, it has successfully cultivated a more supportive community for agricultural professionals, helping them manage stress and improve their overall quality of life. This initiative not only benefits individuals but also strengthens the agricultural industry as a whole.

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Presented by: Rhonda Miller, PhD, Director of AgrAbility of Utah and Randall Bagley, Program Coordinator of AgrAbility of Utah 

AgrAbility is part of a national program designed to help farmers, ranchers and their family members remain in agriculture when facing limitations due to aging, disease, injury, illness, or other health-related challenges. 

AgrAbility specialists analyze each situation and recommend practical solutions to restructure work tasks, modify agricultural operations, coordinate community and state resources, and customize a plan to meet individual and family needs for farmers or ranchers. AgrAbility of Utah is a partnership between Utah State University Extension and Allies with Families. AgrAbility works closely with Vocational Rehabilitation and other agencies to secure funding for necessary accommodations.

Learn more about AgrAbility here. 

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Presented by: Ingrid Maughan, MBA, Community Health Program Manager, Intermountain Health, Manny Lucero, MHI,Community Health Program Manager, Intermountain Health, Kayla Deru, Data Analyst, Intermountain Health,Mandi Spens, PMHNP-BC, Intermountain Health, Cheryl Swapp, CHW, Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office

Intermountain Health partnered with the Sanpete County Jail after receivingfunding from the Rural Community Opioid Response Program to pilot a novelapproach to aiding inmates with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). They placed acertified Community Health Worker in the jail to offer intervention and supportto incarcerated individuals with SUD. Over the next 16 months, the jail experienced a 60% decrease in recidivism rates as a result. This ECHO session details those efforts, provide testimonials, and cover other interventions and lessons learned in this incredible success story.

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Speaker: Art Van Zee, MD 

Art Van Zee graduated from Case Western Reserve University Medical School in 1973, did an Internal Medicine Residency at Vanderbilt the next three years, and came to the St. Charles Clinic in 1976 where he had a primary care Internal Medicine office and hospital practice. In 1999, Central Appalachia became one of the early areas in the country affected by the OxyContin problem. The devastation this brought to countless individuals and communities in our region prompted him to get training in Addiction Medicine. He has been a buprenorphine (Suboxone) prescribing physician since 2003, and is Board Certified in Addiction Medicine as well as Internal Medicine. Dr. Van Zee’s concern about the way OxyContin was being marketed led him to be an out-spoken critic of Purdue Pharma’s marketing. He testified before a Senate Committee Hearing on the OxyContin problem in 2002. He later authored a widely cited paper—“The Marketing and Promotion of OxyContin: Commercial Success, Public Health Tragedy” published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2009. Dr. Van Zee’s wife, Lee County Attorney Sue Ella Kobak, has been a partner in their efforts to make a meaningful

contribution to the Opioid Crisis over the last 25 years.

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In recent years substance-related overdoses, many of which involve opioids, have contributed to more deaths than car accidents. Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a medical condition that continues to be highly stigmatized, which exacerbates these losses and addressing opportunities to improving the overdose crisis. Stigma comes in many forms (e.g., self-stigma, stigma, and structural stigma). Each of these forms of stigma serve to addressing unfair treatment and can be opportunities to treatment seeking, resulting in continued use of substances and the devastating impacts of the overdose crisis. Stigma creates a vicious cycle that requires evidence-based and intentional efforts to combat. It is important to focus efforts on increasing education, increasing the use of recovery language, and building an understanding of evidence-based treatments. This presentation reviews the opioid overdose epidemic, including base knowledge of what opioids are, use of non-stigmatizing language, and an evidence-based treatment overview. The importance of stigma reduction in the fight against the overdose crisis is discussed.

Speakers: Ashley Yaugher, PhD & Gabriela Murza, MS, MCHES - Utah State University Extension Health & Wellness Faculty, HEART Initiative 

Click HERE for Voices of Resiliency: Utah Stories of Substance Use Disorder, Stigma, & Harm Reduction The graphic novels in the series are based on personal experiences of Utahns with substance use disorder. They are stories of hope, stigma, and recovery. When someone discloses their struggles with substances they are often stigmatized by family, friends, and even health care providers. One way to reduce this troubling effect is to make connections with those that have been stigmatized. Learning about others' personal experiences can help to restore their humanity and help decrease negative preconceptions, harmful assumptions, and unfair actions. Comics are one way to provide this connection. 

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Substance use significantly addressing risk for suicide. This presentation will provide an overview of the relationship between substance use and suicide, and provide clinical recommendations for therapeutic interventions.

Speaker: Rachael Jasperson, PhD, LCSW, MBA

Click HERE for SAMHSA's 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Print Materials

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Often overlooked, loneliness and the lack of connectedness are extremely vital factors that need to be addressed, assessed, and mitigated. We will address how lifestyle medicine pillars can be integral in the assessment process of connectedness and provide healthy tools for integration.

Speaker: Steve Sugden, MD, MPH, MSS and Ashley Kley, CPSS 

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In this lecture, we discussed the treatment of both acute and chronic pain in patients with substance use disorders, focusing on opioid use disorder in particular. We discussed the treatment of pain generally, and reviewed some of the modalities beneficial for the treatment of chronic pain. We had the opportunity to learn from lived experiences of a USARA peer recovery coach, Kayla Jensen. 

Speaker: Brandon D. Jones, MD and Kayla Jensen from USARA

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In this session we covered alcohol screening tools, ambulatory withdrawal management, and medications for treatment of alcohol use disorder. We will also have the opportunity to learn from the lived experiences of a USARA peer recovery coach, Sami Lindsay. 

Speaker: Tran Le, MD, MOH and Sami Lindsay from USARA

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We covered the basic principles of harm reduction in the setting of intravenous drug use. We covered how drugs are injected, and what things we can do to prevent adverse outcomes. Finally, we touched on low accessible wound care especially in an era where xylazine may become more common. 

Speaker: Ryan Duggal, MD

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This presentation covered the current state of the opioid epidemic in Utah, as well as the basics of opioid use disorder treatment and answers to some common questions surrounding the use of buprenorphine in a primary care clinic.

Speakers: Michael Incze, MD, MSEd and Brandon D. Jones, MD

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