The MACo Winter Conference closed out with an interactive round table session that provided an opportunity for audience members and panelists to share insights and answer questions related to what’s working, what’s not, and what is next for the opioid crisis.

The first half of the session was a Q&A between facilitator Nastassia Walsh, Program Manager, National Association of Counties (NACo), and panelists Steve Schuh, Executive Director, Opioid Operational Command Center (OOCC); Birch Barron, Deputy Director, Opioid Operational Command Center (OOCC); Crista Taylor, Executive Director, Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore (BHSB); Howard Ashkin, President, Maryland Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (MATOD); and Vickie Walters, Executive Director, REACH Health Services, Institutes for Behavior Resources (IBR).

The panelists answered questions and shared their insights on the state’s efforts to coordinate efforts to tackle the opioid crisis through the OOCC; obstacles to access to treatment; behavioral health challenges within the criminal justice population; impacts of Medicaid expansion on access to treatment; harm reduction; and evidence-based practices that are working locally and should be pursued further.

For the second half of the session the floor was open to audience members to ask questions of the panelists and fellow attendees in the room. The round table was held on Friday, January 4, 2019.

The MACo Winter Conference was held January 2-4, 2019 at the Hyatt in Cambridge, Maryland. This year’s theme was, “Charting the Course.”