Just the Facts: Marijuana Lit

December 12, 2014
Maureen Fitzgerald,
ATTC Network Coordinating Office

With marijuana legalization so much in the news these days, SUD treatment professionals face a big task in separating fact from marijuana fiction. What's more, what we currently know about marijuana may no longer be true, since existing studies were conducted years ago  on much less powerful pot.

Central Kansas Foundation: The value of integrating SUD services

December 9, 2014
Maureen Fitzgerald
Communications Coordinator, ATTC Network Coordinating Office
Editor, NIATx

Some might not expect to find one of the country’s most advanced examples of integrated care in a small Midwestern town. But in Salina, Kansas (population 47,846) the Central Kansas Foundation has been integrating its services with other health care providers in the area since 2009. Today, CKF has integrated recovery services into acute and primary care settings at two local hospitals and collaborates with a health network of 15 critical access hospitals. Les Sperling, CEO of CKF, shared some insights on what he’s learned about integrating SUD services in a panel presentation and in one of the Ignite Talks at the recent ATTC Forum on Advancing the Integration of SUD Services and Health Care.

A Seminal Study Asks: Should our paradigm for treatment be expanded? Are we doing enough?

November 24, 2014

Michael T. Flaherty, Ph.D.
Ernest Kurtz, Ph.D.
William L. White, M.A.
Ariel Larson, M. A.

The addiction treatment field and the larger alcohol and drug problems arena have historically drawn their knowledge from two sources: 1) the study of drugs and their personal, biological, and social precursors and consequences, and 2) the study of the clinical and social interventions designed to  prevent, intervene in, or treat those consequences. These pathology and intervention paradigms are the foundation for policy, funding, research, and treatment in most of the world today. But is this enough? Are these paradigms offering the best opportunity to attain wellness? Is there a better paradigm?

ATTC Network Forum 2014: What Participants are Saying

November 12, 2014

Maureen Fitzgerald
ATTC Network Coordinating Office

At The ATTC Network Forum 2014: Advancing the Integration of Substance Use Disorder Services and Health Care (November 4-5)  participants spent two days thinking in new ways about the Network. Presentations from plenary speakers and other presenters are now available for viewing on the Advancing Integration page of the ATTC website:

ATTC Network Forum 2014 Day 1: Igniting the Spark

November 6, 2014

Maureen Fitzgerald
Communications Coordinator, ATTC
Network Senior Editor, NIATx
What do we know about the integration of health care and SUD services? 

Mady Chalk, Research Director, TRI

 "Things are moving fast and we need to pay attention," said Mady Chalk of TRI, who opened the ATTC Network Forum 2014 with a plenary presentation on emerging issues in health care. These issues have huge implications for the ATTC Network's role in meeting the needs of the behavioral health workforce. But will the Network step up to the challenge?