White House to Hold “Making Health Care Better” Event on Substance Use Disorders

Tomorrow morning, on Wednesday, November 30, the White House will hold the fifth event in its “Making Health Care Better” series, which will focus on advancements over the last eight years in prevention, treatment, and recovery for substance use disorders. The program will feature government officials, nonprofit and academic leaders, advocates working to address substance use disorders, and people personally affected by this disease.  As part of tomorrow’s event, the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is releasing a new progress report on addressing substance use disorders, noting progress in prevention, treatment, recovery and research. The full report will be distributed in the morning. The event will be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live/ on Wednesday, November 30 at 8:30am ET. The White House launched the “Making Health Care Better” series in spring 2016 to highlight the significant progress made in improving health and the health system over the past seven years, and to discuss current activities both inside and outside the Administration as well as the work that is left to do. Previous events included discussions on diabetes, mental health, cardiovascular health, and suicide prevention. Tomorrow’s agenda follows: Welcome Remarks Michael Botticelli, Director, National Drug Control Policy Panel Discussion: Health Care in America: Making Progress for People with Substance Use Disorder Moderator: Dr. Wilson Compton | Deputy Director, National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Dr. Carolyn Clancy | Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Organizational Excellence, Veteran’s Health Administration (VA) Dr. Deborah Dowell | Senior Medical Advisor, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Kana Enomoto | Principal Deputy Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Dr. Chris Jones | Director, Division of Science Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (HHS) Dr. Carlos Blanco | Director, Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Panel Discussion: Solutions for Improving Care and Recovery Support Moderator: Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck | Executive Director, National Association of County and City Health Officials Timothy Rabolt | Young Person in Recovery and Recovery Advocate Don Flattery | Chair, Advocacy Committee, Fed Up Coalition Nadine Parker | Executive Director, National Capital Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking Dr. Leana Wen | Health Commissioner, Baltimore, MD Panel Discussion: Advancing a Public Health and Public Safety Approach  Moderator: Cynthia Reilly | Director, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Initiative, Pew Charitable Trusts Sheriff Peter Koutoujian | Sheriff, Middlesex County, MA Daniel Raymond | Policy Director, Harm Reduction Coalition Gabrielle de la Gueronniere | Director of Policy, Legal Action Center Dr. Stephen Patrick| Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Closing Remarks Tom Vilsack, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture For more information about the Office of National Drug Control Policy visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp