Reducing Drug Related Harm: Spotlight on Overdose and Brain Injury

This training will be HYBRID – Please choose if you’d like to attend in-person (at North Country Health Consortium in Littleton, NH) or virtually when registering.

Sponsor: Northern New Hampshire Area Health Education Center in collaboration with New Hampshire Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors Association

PRESENTATION: During this half day training session, attendees will learn more about the intersect of substance use overdoses and brain injury. Krystal Chase, LICSW CBIS, Director of Programs and Services at the Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire will discuss the connection between opioids and brain injury including effective treatment strategies and research from a pilot project at St. Joseph Hospital. Kerry Nolte, PHD, FNP-C, Associate Professor at the University of New Hampshire will explore in more detail SUD as it relates to brain injury including trends in rural areas, stigma & bias, and harm reduction strategies for overdose prevention/response and follow up.

Following the training, participants will be able to: 

• Identify two key goals from the St Joseph Hospital pilot project that can be utilized by providers and clinicians.
• List three resources available to providers and clinicians for working with this population.
• Identify five effects of overdose on brain function particularly related to opioid use.
• Identify regional trends related to overdoses in New Hampshire and opportunities for increasing intervention in at-risk regions.
• Relate the concepts of humility and curiosity to learn about substance use disorders as precursors to have supportive and pragmatic conversations with clients.
• Identify opportunities in varied practice settings to engage clients who use drugs in setting and achieving goals
• Apply harm reduction principles to supporting patients experiencing drug withdrawal symptoms or signs/symptoms of brain injury.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:  

Kerry Nolte, PhD, FNP-C is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Nursing at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, and a Family Nurse Practitioner at Families First Health and Support Center, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She has published numerously on various substance use related topics in peer reviewed journals and textbooks with a focus on reducing drug-related harms. Originally trained as an EMT, Kerry has used that background as inspiration to go into nursing. After receiving her degree, Nolte became a family nurse practitioner — it was later on in her career that her focus turned to providing compassionate care to those who misuse drugs. Nolte is also a founding member and current chair of the New Hampshire Harm Reduction Coalition, a statewide organization that develops, supports and promotes policies, practices and programs that reduce the harmful consequences of substance use and misuse.

Krystal Chase, LICSW, CBIS is the Director of Programs and Services at the Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire in Concord, NH. She has years of experience as a social worker helping adults with mental health and/or co-occurring substance use disorders, as well as with children with developmental disabilities including autistic spectrum disorders. She has worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings including in-home care and crisis stabilization. She is skilled in group facilitation of psychoeducational, psychotherapeutic and expressive therapy groups. Krystal received her Master of social Work from the University of New Hampshire and is licensed as an Independent Clinical Social Worker and a Certified Brain Injury Specialists.

For more information and to register click here

Event Details