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LOUISVILLE, KY – The ���˶���’s (LSC) Opioid Task Force will hold its second field hearing on Wednesday, February 13, in Louisville. The 31-member Task Force is comprised of health care and public health experts, judges, leaders in business and law, and other stakeholders who are working to address the legal aid component of the opioid crisis.

Over the past few years, the opioid epidemic has emerged as a serious public health care crisis. More than two million Americans currently suffer from opioid-related substance use disorders. Civil legal issues frequently arise for people suffering from these disorders and for their families, including problems related to child support and custody, child abuse and neglect, guardianship, domestic violence, housing, health benefits, and employment. 

LSC Board Member Robert Grey, Jr., retired Senior Counsel at Hunton & Williams LLP; LSC Board Member Victor B. Maddox, a partner in the Louisville law firm of Fultz Maddox Dickens, PLC; and David H. Hoffman, a partner in the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP, serve as Co-Chairs of the Opioid Task Force. Maddox and Hoffman will deliver opening remarks and an update on the status of the Task Force’s efforts.

The hearing will feature four panels and a presentation. (See the full agenda below for more information about speakers.) The first panel, “Educational Efforts of the Judiciary and the Federal Government,” will highlight important outreach work undertaken by courts and the government relating to the opioid crisis.

The second second panel, “Specific Issues Faced by Native Americans,” will explore how the crisis is affecting Native American communities. The third panel will focus on the issues that veterans who suffer from opioid-related substance use disorders face. 

Following those panels, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass Executive Director Joshua Crabtree will discuss his organization’s efforts to help students affected by the opioid epidemic.

The final panel, “Barriers to Care,” will feature leaders from law, health care, and social services and address challenges and opportunities in addressing the needs of people affected by the opioid crisis. A wrap-up discussion on next steps will follow.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. EST at the Brown Hotel, 335 W. Broadway. The hearing will be livestreamed via . Follow #LSCopioid for live-tweeting of the hearing. 

Visit LSC’s Opioid Task Force page for membership information, videos, and other material relevant to the Task Force’s work. 

See the full agenda for the hearing below:

Opioid Task Force Field Hearing
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
8:30 am – 3:15 pm ET 

8:30 – 8:40 AM          Welcoming Remarks 

• Victor B. Maddox, Co-Chair, Opioid Task Force

 8:40 – 8:55 AM          Task Force Status Update 

• David H. Hoffman, Co-Chair, Opioid Task Force

8:55 – 9:55 AM          Panel 1 – Educational Efforts of the Judiciary and the Federal Government

• Deborah Taylor Tate, Director, Administrative Office of the Courts; Co-Chair, National Judicial Opioid Task Force
• Captain Christina Mead, PharmD, Regional Pharmacy Consultant, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources Services Administration, Office of Regional Operations
• Moderator: Stefanie Davis, Assistant General Counsel, ���˶���

10:05 – 10:55 AM      Panel 2 – Specific Issues Faced by Native Americans

• Cody Nelson, Executive Director, Anishinabe Legal Services
• Nikole Nelson, Executive Director, Alaska ���˶���
• Moderator: Dr. Robert Onders, Medical Director of Community and Health Systems Improvement, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

10:55 AM – 12:05 PM    Panel 3 – Specific Issues Faced by Veterans

• Dr. Minu Aghevli, Program Coordinator, Opioid Agonist Treatment Program (OATP), VA Maryland Healthcare System
• Sean Clark, National Coordinator, Veterans Justice Outreach, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Dr. Karen Drexler, National Mental Health Program Director for Substance Use Disorders, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Lara Eilhardt, Attorney and Special Adviser on Veterans’ Access to Legal Services, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs
• Sonny Hatfield, Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist, Robley Rex VA Medical Center
• Liam McGivern, Staff Attorney, Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida
• Moderator: Ron Flagg, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel, ���˶���

12:10 – 1:10 PM        Lunch & Presentation: Legal Aid of the Bluegrass’ Victims of Crime Assistance Grant to Help Students Affected by the Opioid Epidemic

• Joshua Crabtree, Executive Director, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass

1:15 – 2:30 PM          Panel 4 – Barriers to Care                                  

• Sally Friedman, Legal Director, Legal Action Center
• Brandon George, Director, Indiana Addiction Issues Coalition
• Dr. Elizabeth Quinn, Family Physician and Associate Medical Director, Lynn Community Health Center
• Tarra Simmons, Skadden Fellow, Public Defender Association, and Co-Chair, Washington Statewide Reentry Council
• Dr. Mishka Terplan, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Psychiatry, Associate Director of Addiction Medicine, and Medical Director of MOTIVATE, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Moderator: Stefanie Davis, Assistant General Counsel, ���˶���

2:30 – 3:15 PM          Wrap-Up Discussion