A Hopeful Path Forward at Maine’s Opiate Crisis Summit

In her opening remarks at the Opiate Response Summit, Governor Janet Mills expressed her appreciation for Gordon Smith. One of the Governor’s first actions, post-inauguration, was to found the Opiate Response and Prevention Taskforce directed by Smith. Mills’ founding of this taskforce underscores what a large priority the Opiate Epidemic represents for Mainers. Turning the Tide: Maine’s Path Forward in the Opiate Crisis, a summit which packed the Augusta Civic Center with over 1,000 people on the 15th, represented an overwhelmingly hopeful attitude towards harm reduction and prevention. Several days prior to the event, Smith commented that the need to cap registration at 1,050 people was a good problem to have. Many are invested in solving this Crisis.

The Governor opened the event with a grave message stressing the urgent need for awareness, and what is at stake for Maine families. In the past five years, 1,700 Mainers have died of drug overdose. If 1,700 baby seals washed up dead on the beach, said Mills, there would be a massive public response. “These are not ‘druggies’,” said Mills, “they are neighbors.” The Governor stressed in her speech that people affected by substance use disorders are family members: they are sons and daughters and parents, employees and employers, neighbors and friends.

Commissioners from many government Departments such as Health and Human Services, Public Safety, and Law Enforcement were present. Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin was also in attendance. Following the Governor’s remarks, attendees heard from Sam Quiones, author of Dreamland, a book which outlines the evolution of an American Opioid Crisis.

Afterward, the nine morning breakout sessions began. These were hosted by a variety of experts. The diverse topics from both morning and afternoon sessions included the following critical subjects:

· Addressing Stigma: Using Researched-Based Evidence

· Building Public Health Infrastructure

· Needle Exchanges and Naloxone Distributions

· Challenges in Recovery Centers and Housing

· Community Prevention Services at Work

· Data to Action: Harnessing Information to Tackle the Opioid Crisis

· Emerging Threats: Current and Predictive Trends

· Harm Reduction with Neonatal Focus

· How to Best Navigate Jobs and Transportation During Recovery

· Improving Access to Medications for OUD: Considerations for Special Populations

· Improving Access to Medications for OUD: Engaging More Clinicians to Offer Treatment

· Law Enforcement and its Role of Bringing Hope to Recovery

· MaineWorks: Offering Dignity, Trust, and a Path Forward

· OD Mapping and Overdose Response Through Community Partnerships

· Responsible Prescribing and Pain Control Debate: Has the Pendulum Swung Too Far?

· State Prevention Services: Opioid Task Force Update

· The Importance of Law Enforcement in Community Based Recovery

· The Power of Community Coalitions

· Voices of Recovery: Panel of Individuals in Recovery

Summit2 — Peter Michaud, Debate Moderator addressed the audience at the Responsible Prescribing and Pain Control Debate breakout session.

At lunch, the parents of two young men who lost their lives to substance abuse disorders spoke and shared their story before the assembled audience. Former White House Director of National Drug Control Policy, Michael Botticelli, then spoke on the importance of community support in the recovery process. Speaking on his own experience with the disorder, he highlighted the stigma which only perpetuates the issue. “Epidemics don’t happen in a vacuum,” he said. Botticelli stressed the ways in which the epidemic is exacerbated by poor data, over-prescription, and lack of information and resources. He closed his remarks by pointing out the number of options that Maine should employ moving forward, saying “We cannot dictate other people’s paths to recovery.”

The panel of speakers who following the afternoon breakout session demonstrated a deluge of support from state government bodies all over New England and the North East. The Senior Advisor to the Governor of Rhode Island Tom Coderre, Senior Advisor to the Governor of New Hampshire David Mara, and the Commissioner of Health in Vermont Dr. Mark Levine sat on the panel, as well as the President of the American Medical Association Dr. Patrice Harris. Coderre succinctly represented the mentality of support shared by those in attendance when he encouraged Maine to “flatter Rhode Island by mimicking any of their ideas.” The goal of the Summit was to build on existing positive information so New England can better tackle this unprecedented Crisis.

Turning the Tide: Maine’s Path Forward in the Opiate Crisis served as a lightning rod for activists who wish to generate a reason for hope. And there are reasons to be hopeful. The Summit alone demonstrates an effort by the administration and the public to address an Opiate

Crisis sweeping Maine and America. Those in the recovery process are being given a larger voice at the table. Maine Law Enforcement is now prepared to administer Naloxone to those experiencing an overdose. In fact, 2017 was Maine’s high water mark for overdoses. We are turning the tide, and this Summit was among the first steps of many more to come.

Free School Safety Presentation

I Love You Guys Foundation School Safety Presentation Coming to Maine

What: Standard Response Protocols and Standard Reunification Method for schools and districts, and an After Action Review of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting.

When: 31 July 2019- William Cohen Middle School, Bangor. 8:00-12:00

2 August 2019- Windham High School, Windham. 8:00-12:00

Audience: Maine school superintendents, principals and staff; local first responders; county emergency management agency staff.

Presenter: Scott Parker, Scott Parker, “I Love You Guys” Certified Trainer for the Standard Response Protocols and Standard Reunification Method; National school safety subject matter expert; supported the development of the Maine Model plan in 2007; certified SRP and SRM Train the Trainer in 2013; has worked with over 20 school districts and academies in Maine; currently working with 8 school districts in Maine.

Cost: Free, supported by National School Safety Organization, “I Love You Guys Foundation”

Registration: Advance registration will be required. Contact: ScottParker.preparedness@gmail.com

Technical Assistance: A new Update Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method will be available for attendees after this training.

Save the date!

NOTICE: Maine School Wellness Summit POSTPONED, New Dates TBD

Regretfully, due to low registration, the 2019 Maine School Wellness Summit planned for June 25 & 26 has been postponed. The Maine Schoolsite Health Promotion Program (MSHPP) Planning Committee is committed to hosting the planned two-day agenda in the 2019-20 school year. We are thankful to the scheduled presenters, who have indicated that they are very willing to work with us to deliver their presentations at a future date.

Registrants should have received an email from the planning committee via Cristina.stade@maine.gov. If you have additional questions, please email either Cristina or susan.berry@maine.gov.

Please know that the decision to postpone was made with great thought and consideration of presenter cost, time and efforts, as well as the desire for participants to have a robust and collaborative experience.

The MSHPP Planning Committee wishes everyone a restful, rejuvenating, and well-deserved summer break.

New School Nurse Orientation Registration Now Open!

If you have hired or will be hiring a new nurse for your school over the summer, be sure to include THIS workshop in their new hire work plan. The New School Nurse Orientation is a specialized program, designed to help nurses transition into the educational setting which is very different than hospital, urgent care, or other medical settings. Some of the topics included in the newly revised sessions include a review of the School Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, certification requirements, resources, a review of Maine’s Nurse Practice Act, medication administration policies in schools, screening requirements, concussion management, communicable diseases, and much more. The 2-day session in August will be followed by additional virtual support sessions via Zoom, the first scheduled for September 26.

When: August 14-15, 2019
Where: Bangor Savings Bank, 5 Senator Way, Augusta Maine
2^nd Floor Conference Room
Cost: $60 for both days to cover the cost of lunch and materials

If you have any questions, please contact: Emily Poland, MPH, RN, School Nurse Consultant, at 207-624-6688 or Emily.poland@maine.gov

School Safety Bulletin-June: Preparation and Response for Bomb Threats

Throughout the 2018- 2019 school year, the Maine Department of Education, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Maine State Police, Maine Sheriffs Association, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, and the Maine Emergency Management Agency will provide tips and resource information to Maine schools to help provide some guidance for identifying signs and preventing school violence.

School Safety vol. 10 r1 template_Bomb Threat Reporting_FINAL

Further questions and inquiries can be send to Pat Hinckley, Maine DOE Transportation and Facilities Administrator at 207-624-6886 or pat.hinckley@maine.gov.

Maine School Wellness Summit

Refill your wellness toolbox with tools (strategies, resources, and programs) to build an action plan for healthier staff, students and school environments starting with two outstanding educators each day:
June 25th: Murray Banks is a motivational speaker and world champion athlete with roots in teaching school. He lives life with a passion for health and well-being every day. This year he will focus his message on the importance of positivity on one’s overall health using hilarious images, imaginative videos, and poignant classroom and personal stories that will inspire all of us.
June 26th: George Manning returns to the Wellness Summit with more tools, resources and insights focused on life, work and the pursuit of balance. He will engage the audience with his enchanting personality and stories that come from more than 40 years of experience teaching psychology at the collegiate level and traveling the country helping organizations and businesses develop healthy and productive work environments.

Maine School Wellness Summit

CDC Notifies Public of Confirmed Measles in Maine

Maine Department of Education is sharing the notice provided by the Maine Center for Disease Control regarding a school aged student with a confirmed case of Measles. Schools that were directly involved/at risk have been contacted and have received guidance from the CDC epidemiologist.

If schools who are not affected are contemplating notification beyond what has already been provided to the media by the CDC, the following questions should be considered when making the decision:

1. What message do you want to send that isn’t already in the news/social media?
2. What are you telling families to do in response to the information?
3. Who is going to be handling the parent response?

If school personnel have further questions, we encourage local conversations with the school nursing staff, who are in contact with Emily Poland, School Nurse Consultant at the Maine Department of Education.

Building School Capacity Through Community Collaboration

On June 12, the Maine Department of Education (Maine DOE) is joining the Maine Resilience Building Network (MRBN) to provide a free, full-day opportunity for school and community prevention partners to learn and think about ways to collaborate to address challenging topics such as mental health, substance use, and student health.

Participants will learn about resources and funding that is available to develop, implement and evaluate comprehensive activities and programs that are focused on supporting safe and healthy students.

All school personnel who are familiar with their school district’s Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) and are knowledgeable of their school’s goals to provide students with access to a well-rounded education and to improve school conditions for student learning are encouraged to participate.

All community prevention partners who have the tools and resources to address safe, healthy, supportive and drug-free environments and are wanting to work with schools to address problems that relate to mental health and substance use are encouraged to participate.

In addition, pediatrician Dr. Ken Ginsburg, via Zoom from Philadelphia, will engage with participants to discuss strength based approaches to reaching teens through school and community engagement efforts.

The day’s agenda will also include: school and community prevention partners’ success stories; a panel presentation with representation from Maine DOE, programs within Maine DHHS, MRBN, and the CAN (Child Abuse and Neglect) Council; an overview of Dr. Ginsburg’s Building Blocks of Resilience (the 7Cs); and facilitated discussion.

This learning opportunity will be held in the Bangor Savings Bank in Augusta on June 12, 2019, beginning at 8:30am and ending by 4:00pm. Lunch will be provided.

Registration and an agenda for the day can be found here. Registration closes June 4, 2019

For more information or to ask questions, please contact Sarah Adkins, Student Assistance Coordinator at the Maine DOE at sarah.adkins@maine.gov, 624-6685, or Kini-Ana Tinkham, Interim Executive Director, Maine Resilience Building Network at kini.tinkham@gmail.com.

School Health Annual Reporting Window is Open

The Department is announcing that the School Health Annual Report is now available through the Reporting Calendar. The reporting window closes on July 31, 2019. This report contains both required reporting components for all schools, public, charter, and private, as well as an optional section. As a reminder, we will be collecting only one report for every school administrative unit. In the past, this report has been done by each school. The reporting link is available through the calendar; the superintendent will determine who will compile and submit the data from all schools within the SAU. The data does not need to be submitted by your health staff; it can be entered by whomever the Superintendent determines is appropriate.

You may preview and print the reporting tool in order to aid data collection among your schools. The following is a list of the data points that are being collected:

Number of students screened for distance acuity, near acuity, and hearing in the required grades and the number of students referred/number of students with completed referral (required reporting per Chapter 45)
Summary of epinephrine administration (required reporting per Chapter 40)
Staffing levels for health services (direct services, supplemental staff, special assignments, supervisory position provided by RN, LPN, and health aides)
Number of students with a diagnosis (from a health care provider) of asthma, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, seizure disorder, life threatening allergy
Health office visits & disposition (number of students seen face to face by RN, LPN, health aide and resulting disposition: return to class, sent home, or 911 call)

Collecting school health data informs local, state, and national student health policy and helps to promote best practices in school health services. Creating data driven polices to advocate for the needs of students, we can increase evidence-based school nursing practice and improve youth health outcomes.

The School Health Annual Report summary for 2017-18 is available if you are interested.

If you have questions about the School Health Annual Report please contact the School Nurse Consultant, Emily Poland at Emily.Poland@Maine.gov or 207-624-6688.

School Safety and Security Bulletin: Children Healing After Crisis

School Safety vol. 9 Children Healing after Crisis

Further questions and inquiries can be send to Pat Hinckley, Maine DOE Transportation and Facilities Administrator at 207-624-6886 or pat.hinckley@maine.gov.