In the age of opioid addiction many people are turning to alternative medicines to manage pain. With that in mind, Housatonic Community College (HCC) is offering a free panel discussion event on March 7th entitled, ‘Manage Your Pain Without Opioids.’ The program, which will present alternative holistic approaches to managing pain, will take place from 11am – 2pm in the College’s Beacon Hall Event Center, room BH-214. The event is free, open to the public and refreshments will be served.
Presentations and demonstrations will take place in the areas of yoga, meditation, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, occupational therapy and music therapy. The panel of experienced professionals includes, Pam Muir, a certified Kripalu yoga teacher at Yoga For Everybody; Dr. Joseph Downer, Lac, a licensed acupuncturist at Stratford Acupuncture & Nutritional Wellness Center; Lola Halperin, Ed.D., OTR/L, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University; Jennifer Dauphinais, an adjunct professor in the School of Education at Quinnipiac University.
The event is part of a series of educational programs and training opportunities offered at HCC through the Connecticut Healthy Campus Initiative (CHCI). Through this initiative, colleges and universities are provided with small grants to reach students though awareness building programs, events and engagement. CHCI is part of the state’s concerted efforts to provide education and training in the area of opioid overdose, especially among the youth.
“In 2017 opioids were declared a public health emergency, and data indicates that one in ten experience chronic pain,” said HCC Counselor, Dr. Indira Reddy. “We’ve planned this event to encourage and promote some of the alternative ways to manage pain. There will be demonstrations and Q&A, creating a very interactive and engaging event.”
“Policymakers and health care providers are working to stem the tide of opioid addiction and abuse. We are proud to partner with area universities and businesses to raise awareness about pain management alternatives,” said Dr. Paul Broadie, President of Housatonic Community College. “We encourage anyone in the community that is experiencing chronic pain to attend this informative event.”
The ‘Pain Management Without Opioids’ panel discussion is part of the Connecticut Healthy Campus Initiative, a program of Wheeler Clinic’s Connecticut Center for Prevention, Wellness and Recovery and is funded by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) with the support of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).