Andy Gish is a Board Certified Emergency Room Nurse who helped pass Georgia’s Medical Amnesty Law better known as “Don’t Run, Call 911”.  She now teaches an extensive lecture on the Opioid Crisis and how to offer informed compassionate care to people with Substance Use Disorder/Opioid Use Disorder.

The Opioid Crisis affects every sector of our community including schools, healthcare systems, the child-welfare system, the judicial system as well as retail establishments including stores, restaurants and bars. In healthcare, this crisis is affecting every department including the ER, labor and delivery, peri-operative care and primary care.  Even veteran medical staff often do not how how to best approach patients with substance use disorder.  The language you use, unintentional bias and feeling overwhelmed by this crisis can make or break how you connect with patients.  Using an informed and compassionate harm reduction framework can make this much more affective and can help you make real connections with your patients, community members or loved ones in crisis.  

Andy offers lectures programs ranging from 90 mins to 3 hours on the opioid epidemic, de-stigmatizing language and care of patients with substance use disorder and introduction to harm reduction practices.  Lecture include:

• The history of the opioid epidemic and "how we got here".
• How healthcare providers can be the key to rebuilding trust and to connecting patients to care that encourages long-term recovery.
• How to recognize, treat and prevent overdoses whether in the hospital setting, or in the community or in your home.
• Naloxone/Narcan training, including how it works, safety and what to expect when it is administered to an overdose victim.
• Details on personal and professional protections offered by medical amnesty laws
• Compassionate, trauma-informed care including how to incorporate non-stimatixing language that will help make quick connections with patients and will make communication easier.
• Research about stigma and language and how what we say matters.
• Examples of legal and illegal substances commonly found on the streets including examples of counterfeit pills, heroin, xylazine, fentanyl, and it's analogues
• Concepts in harm reduction, including benefits of syringe exchanges, meeting people where they are at and "nothing about us, without us."
• Concepts in the "Warm hand-off" for patients under our care
• Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD)

Andy offers all of these within the framework of case studies from her own work and gives examples of how she has found ways to connect with patients.  This is not just a Naloxone/Narcan training but offers a more comprehensive, wholistic approach to treating patients with SUD/OUD.

This lecture can be geared toward medical or non-medical attendees.  All will leave with a better understanding of overdose prevention and feel more comfortable talking about SUD/OUD.