Viterbo to Host Town Hall, Opioid Summit Events as Part of VOICE Program

Thursday, February 27, 2020

VOICE class.jpg

Two major events on the Viterbo campus are planned as part of the community education element of the university’s VOICE program— short for Vital Opioid Instruction through Community-based Experiential Training.

The VOICE program is made possible by a three-year, $741,201 grant Viterbo received in August 2019 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Opioid Workforce Expansion Program. Debra Murray, director of counselor education, is project director for the VOICE initiative.

On Thursday, March 12, Viterbo will host its first VOICE Town Hall, an advocacy event related to policy issues focused on opioid and substance-use prevention, treatment and recovery services. As part of the grant, the VOICE program will have two such town hall events per year.

The first town hall will focus on Wisconsin’s policy of terminating Medicaid benefits for jail inmates. Wisconsin is one of only 16 states that terminate Medicaid benefits for inmates rather than suspending them.

On Friday, March 13, the university will host the Viterbo VOICE Opioid Recovery Summit, a daylong educational event in partnership with La Crosse’s Alliance to HEAL (Halting the Effects of Addiction Locally).

Topics on the agenda cover multiple disciplines and include new approaches to pain management and identification of risk factors, coordinated community response to the opioid crisis, integrated behavioral health, trauma-informed care, and more.

“The idea is to really get the community and the campus together because the issue is so broad,” said Polly Scott, VOICE program project coordinator.

Both the town hall and summit are free and open to all. Continuing education credits are available.

The March 12 town hall runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Viterbo School of Nursing building. For more information or to register, visit www.viterbo.edu/voice-town-hall.

The March 13 summit runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., also in the School of Nursing building. For more information or to register, visit www.viterbo.edu/voice-summit.