Member News

Dear CSAM Members:

I recently announced to the CSAM Board of Directors that I will retire from my position as CSAM’s Executive Director effective January 16, 2020.

I have had the honor of serving in this role since January 1, 2000 upon the retirement of CSAM’s first Executive Director Gail Jara. The decision to leave this position was not an easy one. It has been an honor to work with such a wonderfully supportive team comprised of board leaders, members, and staff, and I will always hold warm memories in my heart for the experiences we have shared.

Between now and January, I will be working to ensure that the activities currently underway are transitioned to the new Executive Director to be selected by the CSAM Board of Directors. Thank you for supporting me over the past 20 years, and thank you for supporting CSAM.

With deepest appreciation and respect,

Kerry Parker, CAE

CSAM members: 

Per the DHCS letter, several current DHCS behavioral health advisory groups are being merged into one. CSAM members currently serve on several of these. Those of you who currently serve on one of these groups  must re-apply to be a candidate for membership on the new Behavioral Health Stakeholder Advisory Committee (BH-SAC). For those not currently serving on an Advisory Group, we encourage you to apply. To do so, you must fill out an online form by no later than Friday, May 17 (sooner is preferred). It is very important that CSAM members apply so that there is strong representation from addiction medicine on this new Advisory Committee. 

To access the application form, go to: 
https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Documents/BHSAC_MemberApplication.pdf 

On the application, you will need to insert a short bio and commit to attending the first two meetings in person on Wed., July 10 (12:30pm-4:30pm) and Tuesday, October 29 (9:30am—1:30 pm) in Sacramento.

Contact csam@csam-asam.org if you have any questions.

The California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) was selected by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to be part of a statewide collaborative project that includes UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, to increase access to addiction treatment, reduce unmet treatment need, and reduce opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorder (OUD). As the result of this funding, CSAM is updating its “Guideline for Physicians Working in California Opioid Treatment Programs” last published in 2008. The Guideline Update is to be published by January 2019. Walter Ling, MD and Ernie Vasti, MD are leading this project as a function of the Committee on Opioids. A host of CSAM members are contributing authors on the update. Through its sister organization, the Medical Education and Research Foundation (MERF), CSAM received funding to offer 72 Scholarships/Mentored Learning Experiences (MLEs) to take place at the CSAM Annual Conference, August 29 – Sept 1, 2018, in San Francisco at the San Francisco Hilton Union Square. Applications for these opportunities will be available beginning in March 2018. Ken Saffier, MD, President of the MERF Board of Directors is leading this effort. And, finally CSAM will be producing two webinars on Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) to be offered later this year and in early 2019. In 2017, CSAM sponsored a series of 12 monthly webinars to support the implementation of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) of opioid use disorders in primary care. The series of webinars was made possible by a grant from the CA Health Care Foundation (CHCF). These two webinars are an extension of that work and are being lead by Jean Marsters, MD Chair of CSAM’s Committee on Education. For more information on this grant, contact CSAM Project Manager Erica Murdock-Waters at: 415-764-4855 or csam.hss@gmail.com  Read more