National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery
Press Release
Contacts Persons:
Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director/Acting President, edirector@methadone.orgPhone/Fax: 1.212.595.NAMA (1-212-595-62620
For Release
May 31, 2016
NAMA-R extends well-earned
congratulations to Brenda Davis this year’s recipient of the Lane/Holden
Patient Advocacy Award.
Brenda Davis has been a model
patient in the Methadone Maintenance Program at the Mount Sinai /Beth Israel
Program for approximately three decades.
For approximately 20 years she has been employed as a patient advocate
for the thousands of patients treated in the various clinics. During this period Ms. Davis has acquired a
comprehensive background to accomplish her job duties. She has also assumed
duties as treasurer of NAMA Recovery and was instrumental in establishing the
MARS Project in the Mount Sinai/ Beth Israel Methadone program.
She is known for her knowledge of
the intricate regulations and procedures of the clinics. She has mastered the
medical and social aspects of methadone maintenance including: stabilization,
side effects, and drug interactions; the major health concerns of patients
including pregnancy, pain, infectious diseases; and the personal and social
issues including the pervasive stigma which patients encounter in the course of
their treatment and lives.
Brenda Davis is articulate and is
capable of communicating intelligently with patients, physicians, counselors
and administrative personnel in the program. She has attended conferences and
participated in policy meetings with various governmental agencies including
OASAS. The administration of the Mount Sinai/ Beth Israel Methadone program has
also been impressed with the breath of her knowledge and her capacity to help
settle problems which arise in the clinics between patients and the staff,
issues that arise in the patients’ family, and criminal justice matters. Ms. Davis
is a strong willed woman and takes her responsibility to speak for MAT patients
as a sense of duty.
Requirements
·
Only
one “consensus” nominee can be submitted to the Conference Awards Committee to
receive this honor.
·
The nominee must have been involved in the field
of methadone advocacy for a period of five years.
·
The nominee must have made meaningful and
consistent contributions, which have had a significant impact on opioid
treatment within a state or region of the United States.
This Award will be bestowed upon the recipient during the
Awards Banquet Ceremony on November 1, 2016 during AATOD’s next National
Conference which will convene at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.
History of the Award
This award was established in 1995 and recognizes
extraordinary achievements in patient advocacy.
Richard Lane was a long-term heroin user who, upon release
from prison in 1967, was instrumental in establishing one of the Nation’s first
methadone treatment programs. In 1974, he became the Executive Director of Man
Alive and later served as Vice President of the American Methadone Treatment
Association (now AATOD) and as Vice Chairman of the Governor’s Council on
Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Maryland. Mr.
Lane was a passionate advocate for methadone treatment and, by disclosing his
own treatment experiences, provided inspiration to patients and colleagues
alike.
Robert Holden was also a recovering heroin user, who later
became the Director of PIDARC, an outpatient methadone treatment program in the
District of Columbia. He was a friend of
Richard Lane and succeeded Richard Lane’s term of office as the Vice President
of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence.
Previous Winners of the Award
1995, Arizona Richard Lane
2001, St. Louis Joycelyn Woods 2007, San Diego Anthony Scro
2009, New York Walter Ginter
2010, Chicago Lisa Mojer Torres
2012, Las Vegas Roxanne Baker
2013, Philadelphia Ira Marion
2015, Atlanta Claude Hopkins
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