Governor Baker Releases Opioid Working Group Recommendations

Governor Baker Releases Opioid Working Group Recommendations

Administration targets serious reforms to combat opioid epidemic

BOSTON – Vowing to change the way the Commonwealth treats and even thinks about substance addiction, Governor Charlie Baker today released the findings of his Opioid Working Group, a comprehensive report detailing 65 actionable steps to curb the deadly opioid epidemic.

The findings by the 18-member Working Group include short and long term action items to be implemented between now and the next three years, some requiring legislative action and funding and some will be achieved through partnerships with private industry and federal leaders.

“Opioid abuse is a public health epidemic and I applaud our working group for producing these recommendations based on a comprehensive analysis,”said Governor Baker.  “The solution to eradicating opioids is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and will require all of us to rethink the way we treat addiction.  Today’s announcements are a first step and we will aggressively pursue reforms to save lives.”

“This epidemic has already torn apart too many families and communities in the Commonwealth,” said Lt. Governor Polito.  “This report contains recommendations that were carefully and thoroughly collected from every corner of our state and we look forward to taking swift actions to combat the opioid epidemic.”

“While opioid addiction is an urgent problem, it is also a chronic medical disease, not unlike diabetes or heart disease,” said Marylou Sudders, Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and Chair of the Working Group. “The solution requires a strong public health approach focusing on prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery. We must also target education and awareness about the potential misuse of opioids to students and their families.”

“The opiate crisis is impacting families from every community across the Commonwealth,” Attorney General Healey said. “Today’s report is a roadmap to comprehensively addressing this public health crisis and offering help to families who truly need it. I want to thank Governor Baker, Secretary Sudders, and every member of this commission for their collaboration, dedication and leadership on this issue. Now the real work begins to implement these recommendations.”

The announcement comes just days after the launch of a statewide public service campaign to alert parents about the dangers of prescription opioid misuse by their kids. The report calls for additional public awareness initiatives to decrease stigma of the disease.

The cost of implementing the initiatives will currently be $27 million in Fiscal Year ‘16, which will be paid for through a combination of new state funds, MassHealth, and reprioritization of existing state and federal grant funds.

The Commonwealth started addressing the opioid epidemic in 2004, when 456 individuals died of opioid overdoses.  Since then, more than 6,600 members of our communities have died, in addition to an overwhelming amount of hospital stays, emergency department visits and human suffering.  According to the Department of Public Health, there were over 1,000 estimated unintentional opioid related deaths in 2015, representing a significant increase from the estimated 967 deaths in 2014.  The number of opioid-related overdose deaths was nearly triple the amount of motor vehicle-related injuries recorded in 2013.

Key Initiatives:

Prevention: Support substance use prevention education in schools, medical communities, all communities

·       Provide state funding for evidence-based opioid prevention programs in schools

·       Create a public awareness campaign focused on reframing addiction as a medical disease

·       Appoint addiction specialists to state medical boards of registration for medicine, nursing, physicians assistants and dentistry

·       Partner with a chain pharmacy to pilot statewide drug take-back program

·       Implement a training program about neonatal abstinence syndrome and addiction for DCF and improve outreach to prenatal and postpartum care providers to increase training on screening, intervention and care for substance use disorder (SUD).

·       Encourage the American College of Graduate Medical Education to adopt requirements for pain management and substance use disorder education**

Intervention: Require manufacturers and pharmacies to utilize data, dispose of unused medication

·       Improve the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) and ensure data compatibility with other states

·       Require PMP data to be submitted within 24 hours by pharmacies*

·       Require timely reporting from the state of overdose death data to the public, including requirements for emergency medical service providers to submit overdose data to the state

·       Promote the Good Samaritan Law

·       Improve affordability of naloxone through bulk purchasing*

·       Amend the civil commitment statute (Sec. 12 of Chapter 123) to include SUD as a criteria to allow for the involuntary transport and assessment of an individual at substantial harm by reason of substance use disorder

Treatment: Create new pathways to treatment; acknowledge addiction as chronic medical condition

MassHealth

·       Develop a statewide database of available treatment services accessible to clinicians and consumers by phone and internet

·       Expand mobile emergency service programs to support individuals in crisis

·       Enroll uninsured patients receiving certain treatments in MassHealth or other insurance

Department of Public Health

·       Add 100 new treatment beds by July 2016. Expand access to patient navigators

·       Create a pilot program for walk-in access to a trained clinician in community-based outpatient provider settings

·       Create a pilot program to make recovery coaches available in emergency departments and hot spots

Department of Corrections

·       Transfer women civilly committed under Section 35 from the correctional facility at MCI-Framingham to a hospital operated under HHS

·       Increase treatment beds for civilly committed patients under Section 35

·       Bulk purchase opioid agonist and naltrexone therapies for correctional facilities

Group Insurance Commission

·       Review GIC insurance plans, removing fail-first policies and prior authorization protocols that may impede access to treatment

Recovery Support: Recovery is not a one-size-fits-all approach; create multiple entry points to treatment and recovery

·       Certify and register alcohol and drug-free housing to increase accountability and credibility

·       Expand community coalitions to address the opioid epidemic

·       Enforce and strengthen requirements that all licensed addiction treatment programs accept patients on methadone or buprenorphine medication

·       Remove barriers to integration for treatment by creating a consistent public behavioral health licensing policy (through review of DPH, and DMH programs)

·       Establish revised rates for residential recovery homes, effective July 1, 2015

·       Establish a single point of accountability for addiction and recovery policy within HHS

·       Report publicly on progress of implementing working group’s recommendations

·       Increase federal support for substance abuse prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery efforts uniquely tailored for our veterans**

*requires legislative action in Massachusetts 

**requires federal action

Click here to read the Working Group’s Action Plan and full report.

18 Members of the Working Group:

·       Marylou Sudders, Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services

·       Maura Healey, Attorney General

·       George Bell, General Catalyst Partners

·       Monica Bharel, MD, MPH, Commissioner of the Department of Public Health

·       Honorable Paula M. Carey, Chief Justice of the Trial Court

·       Bill Carpenter, Mayor of Brockton

·       Colleen Labelle BSN, RN-BC, CARN, Program Director of the State Technical Assistance Treatment Expansion Office Based Opioid Treatment with Buprenorphine (STATE OBOT B) program at Boston Medical Center; Executive Director of the Massachusetts chapter of the International Nurses Society on Addictions.

·       Alan Ingram, Ed.D., Deputy Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

·       Judy Lawler, Probation Officer, Chelsea District Drug Court

·       Joseph D. McDonald, Sheriff, Plymouth County

·       John McGahan, The Gavin Foundation

·       Honorable Rosemary B. Minehan, Plymouth District Court

·       Fred Newton, President & CEO of Hope House, Inc.

·       Robert Roose, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer of Addiction Services at the Sisters of Providence Health System

·       Cindy Steinberg, National Director of Policy & Advocacy, U.S. Pain Foundation; Chair, Policy Council, Massachusetts Pain Initiative

·       Ray Tamasi, President and CEO of The Gosnold on Cape Cod

·       Steve Tolman, President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO

·       Sarah Wakeman, MD, Medical Director, Substance Use Disorders, Center for Community Health Improvement, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

廣教學校歡送五名高中生畢業 明年慶祝一百歲

 廣教學校畢業生和僑委會副委員長信世昌（前左五）等嘉賓合影。（周菊子攝）

(Boston Orange 周菊子波士頓報導) 中華廣教學校昨（廿一）日下午在泰勒街校址舉行畢業典禮，歡送五名高中生畢業，請僑界從今年九月起和該校一起歡慶一百歲，預定2016年4月8日舉辦一百歲生日慶祝會。           

            廣教學校董事會董事長蔡倩婷，校長曾秀芬與嘉賓一一致詞，發畢業證書給池安妮，郭榮臻，武皓康，謝穎彬，司徒仲賢等人，並邀請社團首長頒發獎學金。

 廣教學校校長蔡倩婷（左一），畢業班老師宋成珍（右起），校長曾秀芬，
畢業生池安妮，郭榮臻，謝穎彬，武皓康，司徒仲賢一起切蛋糕，
慶祝畢業。（周菊子攝）

            其中的池安妮還以790分的成績獲得SAT主題考試最高得分獎。武皓康獲得紀念蘇瞱初最高榮譽獎。司徒仲賢則在因故缺課數月，卻仍能勤奮補足功課，達到畢業要求中，成為榮譽畢業生。

            蔡倩婷在致詞時，鼓勵學生繼續求學，將來別忘了回學校做義工，還報告廣教學校將從今年九月起，展開一百週年慶祝，預定2016年4月8 日辦慶祝會。

           

廣教學校董事陳毓禮陪同廣教學校畢業典禮嘉賓，僑委會副委員長信世昌，
經文處處長賴銘琪，僑教處處長張景南，波士頓華僑文教
中心主任郭大文，僑教專員陳永豐等人昨日坐在貴賓席。（周菊子攝）

廣教學校校長曾秀芬請畢業生的家長，老師起立，接受眾人致敬。她強調，學生們能順利完成學業，家長的支持，老師的教導，僑團的捐款贊助經費，缺一不可。曾秀芬還透露，二年前該校大改課程，以及教學方法時，很多人都擔心學生是否能適應，如今有五名學生高中畢業，他們感到非常驕傲。

            正好在波士頓主持全美華文網路教學研討會的僑委會副委員長信世昌，僑教處處長張景南，專員陳永豐等人，由波士頓僑教中心主任郭大文，駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處處長陪同出席，使得廣教學校今年的畢業典禮格外隆重。

紐英崙中華公所主席阮鴻燦拿出他媽媽幫他找出來的畢業證書，
證明1974年他十三歲時從廣教學校畢業。（周菊子攝）

            信世昌指出，全美之內有百年歷史的中文學校的確不多，紐約，加州等地，約有四，五個。波士頓的廣教學校即將慶祝百歲生日，彰顯了傳統。他鼓勵學生要心存感激，不論將來發展如何，要能感激父母，老師的教誨，堂堂正正做人。他也簡述自己從師大中文系畢業，歷任中文老師，修得博士學位後，再回母校師範大學任教，去年才借調到僑委會擔任副委員長，負責推動僑教，他希望和廣教學校保持合作關係，為下一代教育努力。

            經文處處長賴銘琪以廣東話致詞，指出自己上一次的畢業典禮，已是廿五年前的事。他勉勵學生體會父母，老師的用心良苦，將來要繼續好好讀書，孝順父母。他也保證，政府會支持廣教學校。

  廣教學校揚琴古箏合奏表演。（菊子攝）

            廣教學校今年的畢業典禮，在校內師生精心策劃下，和往年相比有不少變動，一是限制入場人數，二是精簡表演節目，會場內秩序因而大好。

            昨日的廣教學校畢業禮，由冼愛心擔任司儀。表演節目包括余紹祥指導的醒獅，李平指導的青少年樂團以揚琴古箏合奏“瑤族舞曲”，“鄉間小路”，“步步高”。譚家明，譚美寶以小提琴，鋼琴合奏Oscar Rieding，以及Joe Hasaishi的曲目。會中還放映了池安妮和郭榮臻代表畢業班製作的視頻“廣教經驗”。

            在畢業典禮中，廣教學校頒發了品學兼優獎，ISEE

 廣教學校董事長蔡倩婷（左一），校長曾秀芬（右一）邀請蘇李煥珍（左二）
頒發紀念蘇瞱初最高榮譽獎給武皓康（右三），還邀武皓康的爸爸
武文逢（左三），母親黃美蘭（右二）一起上台分享榮譽，也指出昨日
是父親節，武皓康得獎，可算是送給父親的一份最好禮物了。（周菊子攝）

最佳表現獎，波士頓安良工商會，波士頓洪門致公堂，至孝篤親公所，黃氏宗親會，李氏宗親會，華埠退伍軍人會，波士頓華埠獅子會等團體獎學金，紀念蘇瞱初特別榮譽獎及最高紀念獎。

            

       

 廣教學校董事陳毓禮（左）頒獎給SAT主題考試最高得分的池安妮（右）。（周菊子攝）

冼愛心（左起），廣教校長曾秀芬請陳毓禮頒獎給得到
ISEE最佳表現獎的劉銳然。（周菊子攝）

  波士頓華埠獅子會新任會長謝如鍵（右一）代表該會頒發獎學金。（周菊子攝）

              

海南航空波士頓、上海直飛 6/20 啟航

(本報實習記者戴斯夢波士頓報導)海南航空從波士頓直飛上海航班，六月廿日正式開通，首航班機下午二點半抵達，在“水門儀式”中進入波士頓羅根（Logan）國際機場。

從今起，從波士頓飛上海，只要十四到十五個小時。海南航空的波士頓直飛上海航線，每週三班飛機，分別在周二、四、六下午四點三十五分從波士頓起飛。波士頓直飛上海14個小時，反之為15個小時。目前的最低票價在一千元之內。

『水門儀式』是由兩輛大型噴水車在飛機兩側噴水，形成門的形狀，寓意『接風洗塵』 。

麻州港務局（Massport）執行總裁Thomas P. Glynn在機場歡迎海南航空副總裁候偉等和搭乘首飛航班的200多名乘客抵達。

侯偉指出，海南航空公司是北美市場近兩年開通航線最多的航空公司。六月分內開通了聖何西（San Jose）至北京，西雅圖至上海，波士頓至上海的三條國際航線，波士頓地區在一年之內新設兩個直航航線，也在海南航空公司歷史中，創下記錄。

他表示，波士頓、北京直飛航線開通後不久，就因需求增加，飛行航班從每週五班增加至每天一班。去年8月起並增加至每週10班。去年秋季，海航開始申請從波士頓直飛上海的航線，歷時8個月，六月廿日正式開通。

海南航空波士頓地區的銷售經理潘毅表示，海航的波士頓到北京航線，開通以後，滿座率都在90%左右。中美簽證的更加便利，催化了海航的開通波士頓直飛上海航線。

麻州港務局執行總裁Thomas Glynn表示，過去三年內，從波士頓出發到上海的乘客增加了48%。這市場需求讓港務局對此新開航線非常有信心。

Glymn表示海南航空從今年1月宣佈要開通新航線，到6月20日就飛出第一班機，速度可謂非常快。

當天將搭乘海南首航班機，三月份就訂好機票要從波士頓飛上海的席青陽表示，他在大波士頓求學，工作十多年，非常清楚在暑假旺季，從波士頓飛上海的各個航空公司機票價格都在美金兩千元左右。但直飛不但節省時間，還免除轉機的麻煩。以往他得從紐約，芝加哥，舊金山，日本成田機場轉機，總航程時間平均20至24小時，現在可節省六到十個小時。

此外，海南航空以波音787飛機這2013年新機種，來飛波士頓上海直飛路線，對他格外有吸引力。

Century Metals & Supplies 公司國際貿易總裁Lizabeth Satiago是海南波士頓上海直飛首航辦理登機手續的第一位乘客，獲免費升級至頭等艙。她透露自己過去16年來，因為工作，平均每月飛一次國際航線。兩週前她以1800元的價格，預訂了海航這首飛航班。她說，經驗告訴她，搭飛機，轉機次數越少越好。

圖片說明：

6月20日，2時許，從上海直飛到波士頓的第一班飛機在機場接受『水門儀式』。（照片由海南海空公司提供）

麻州港務局執行長Thomas Glynn和海南航空副總裁候偉同切蛋糕慶祝首航。 （從左至右，海航美國區域總經理梁璞玢，麻州港務局執行長Thomas Glymn，海南航空副總裁侯偉，海航華東市場總監陳曉敏，海航人力資源部總經理王秦東）

For Passengers Heading to Asia, Logan is Your Airport

Hainan Nonstop Flight to Shanghai Starts Today

（From Mass Port）BOSTON –Hainan Airlines and Massport officials celebrated the first nonstop arrival from Shanghai today at Logan International Airport. In March, Hainan announced Boston would become the airlines’ first U.S. city with service to Shanghai. The service is scheduled on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner three days a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with afternoon times. The new flight complements the carrier’s existing nonstop Boston-Beijing service. With this new route, passengers at Logan can now reach three destinations in China as well as Tokyo, Japan and Istanbul, Turkey.

“Partnerships like this are terrific for Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. “By gaining new international flights, the Commonwealth is able to compete for more international business opportunities and travel options for our citizens, stimulating economic growth across the region.”

Boston is the largest U.S.-Shanghai air travel market without nonstop service, and Shanghai is Boston’s largest unserved international market, with more than 76,000 passengers travelling between the two cities last year. The total Boston-Shanghai air travel market has grown 48% since 2010, and is expected to grow more as a result of this nonstop service. Since May, Boston to Beijing service on Hainan Airlines has operated daily.

“One year ago, we were celebrating with Hainan their new nonstop Beijing service. And this year, we are thrilled to once again have something to celebrate – this time a new nonstop flight to Shanghai,’’ said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “I want to thank the business community and Massport’s Asia Task Force for their support in making Hainan’s Boston ventures here such a success.’’

Hainan Airlines just won the Skytrax 5-star airline quality award for the 5^th year in a row. The flight time is approximately 15 hours westbound and 14 hours eastbound. Connections with Hainan’s airline partners, including JetBlue in its Boston hub, allow travelers to connect to and from the new service from points throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In Boston, as well as in Shanghai, with advance reservations, premium passengers are treated to complimentary private chauffeured car service both on arrival and departure. Shanghai’s Pudong Airport also features a Maglev train that speeds travel between the airport and the city.

On board Hainan’s airplanes, business class passengers can relax in luxurious seats that convert into a fully flat bed and feature a turn-down service complete with fluffy pillows, fine cotton sheets and a duvet, pajamas and slippers. Gourmet Chinese or Western cuisine and wines are served on fine china, glassware and linens; customers may choose when they wish to dine. Freshly brewed espresso and a selection of teas are available. Amenity kits feature famous Bulgari® cosmetics. A state of the art entertainment system offers over 100 movies, audio selections and games on demand.

波士頓2024宣佈 TD Garden 將作奧運體操，籃賽場地

波士頓2024日前才請出昆士市長站台，宣佈有意在昆市辦奧運沙灘排球賽，接著馬上請出麻州州長查理貝克（Charlie Baker），波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin Walsh）連袂宣佈，TD Garden 球場，將用作奧運體操賽，籃球賽決賽場地。

當然，這些宣佈的前提是，如果波士頓被選中為承辦下一屆奧運城市。而那，要等到2017年才有結果。

“波士頓2024”在宣佈TD Garden這場地時，還把體操名人2012年在倫敦奧運奪得金牌的Aly Raisman，塞爾特（Celtics）傳奇，1968年和美國籃球代表球隊一起在墨西哥奧運中奪得金牌的Jo Jo White，都請出來助陣，並藉以強調這是世界上最偉大的運動會。

            競標2024奧運會的波士頓委員會，最近公佈了一份新的場地建議提案，和今年一月份的計畫相比，有不少變動，不過使用 TD Garden作體操賽和hoops的部分，倒是一樣。

            籃球賽的初賽，複賽，有可能在其他城市舉行。

波士頓 2024 最近公佈的一系列場地建議，包括在 Buzzards Bay辦帆船賽（Sailing），在多徹斯特（Dorchester）辦網球賽，在比樂瑞加（Billerica）辦射擊賽，以期日前公佈的在昆士市辦沙灘排球賽。

            反對波士頓辦奧運的團體，“不要波士頓奧運（No Boston Olympics）在一份聲明中表示，競標委員會仍然無法回答一些基本問題，包括該會打算如何保護納稅人免於面對開銷超支，營收不足。他們認為只要納稅人仍然和這計畫有牽扯，場地變化再多，也不會使得波士頓2024成為一個對麻州來說有責任的計畫。

            競標委員會已承諾將在六月三十日時，公佈更多更詳細的財務預測。

            波士頓2024這非牟利機構最近不斷增加董事，總人數已高達約五十人，是溫哥華奧運的兩倍半，也在坊間引發議論。這些董事包括多名體育界名人，最新名單包括波士頓前任市長雷夫連（Ray Flynn）。

            麻州助理經濟發展部部長范文南（Nam Pham）日前私下質疑，波士頓2024在爭取承辦奧運的努力中，把亞裔放在哪裏？該機構董事會邀請了那麼多人進董事會，但數遍董事名單，卻只發現一名亞裔，曾獲奧運溜冰冠軍，目前住在羅德島州的關穎珊。