Gettysburg, PA, May 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, OPEN MINDS Executive Vice President of Consulting, Annie Medina, and senior associate, Brandon Danz, were selected to facilitate and present during a community summit called, “A Community Effort to Address the Crisis: The Opioid Epidemic”. The summit comprised two parts, with the goal of bringing together key stakeholders in the community in order to develop solutions for battling the opioid epidemic, and then with educating and engaging citizens. The all-day session began with a meeting of approximately 50 community leaders, law enforcement officers, medical providers, and representatives of social service agencies. This “workshop” portion of the summit focused on interdisciplinary collaboration regarding resources and strategies to combat what they have recognized is a growing threat to the well-being and safety of their community. Leaders met in small and large groups to identify strategies to address the problem and prioritize strategies and next steps based on their resource requirements, level of impact on the defined problem, and alignment with Virginia state strategy. The goal for the day was to identify a list of targeted, community-driven strategies to address the opioid epidemic, in order to develop a road map for a community plan.
The workshop was followed by a town hall, and attended by nearly 200 local citizens. This diverse group —which included residents, community pharmacists, DEA agents, clinical providers, and even family members who had lost loved ones to overdoses or had struggled with addiction for years—met to view a documentary on the path to addiction. Ms. Medina and Mr. Danz then presented to the town hall, and focused on offering additional education to the community about opioid addiction and informing them of the workshop events and results. Attendees were invited to participate in a panel Q&A, which included some of the community leaders present at the workshop, and were able to find answers to questions on local treatment options and signs of opioid abuse.
Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC, has over ten years of experience in the health and human services industry, spanning both clinical and operational functions. She is focused in business operations, strategic planning, project management, training and curriculum development, and policy and procedure design. Ms. Medina currently serves as OPEN MINDS Executive Vice President of Consulting. In addition to her work with OPEN MINDS , Ms. Medina is a Hospice Nurse Practitioner for Crater Community Hospice. Before joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Medina was the Chief Operating Officer for Poplar Springs Hospital, a member of Universal Health Services, based in Petersburg, Virginia. In this role, she was responsible for performance improvement, policy and procedure creation, and strategy development and implementation for the hospital’s Joint Commission and CMS regulatory surveys.
Brandon Danz, M.H.A, M.PA. has extensive expertise in health care system and health program design, policy, and regulation. Mr. Danz works with OPEN MINDS ’ clients to assist them in the development and implementation of strategies to respond to the changing health and human service environment. In this work at OPEN MINDS , he provides technical assistance on the impact of policy changes on operational margins, service delivery models, use of technology, and payment methodologies. Before joining OPEN MINDS , Mr. Danz worked as a Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. In this role, he was involved with key initiatives in health care reform within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
OPEN MINDS is a national strategic advisory firm specializing in the sectors of the health and human service industry serving individuals with complex support needs: mental health; addiction treatment; children & family services; intellectual & developmental disabilities; chronic disease management; long term care; social services; correctional health care, reentry & diversion; and juvenile justice.
Founded in 1987 and based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the 75+ associates believe by providing the latest market intelligence and management best practices to organizations serving the health and social support needs of the most vulnerable consumers, those organizations will be better able to provide efficient and effective services. Learn more at www.openminds.com.
For additional questions and inquiries, please contact Tim Snyder, Executive Vice President, OPEN MINDS at 717-334-1329 or openminds@openminds.com .
Tim Snyder OPEN MINDS 7173341329 openminds@openminds.com
