MARS™ Thought-Leadership Helps Raise Profile of Peer Recovery Support Services: Ginter Joins Plenary, Will Showcase Innovative Trainings at 2013 AATOD Conference
New York, New York (PRWEB) October 14, 2013 -- Medication-Assisted Recovery Services (MARS™), part of a leading national nonprofit organization that provides peer support services and training to address the needs of the medication-assisted recovery community, announced its Project Director has been invited to deliver a plenary presentation at the upcoming 2013 AATOD Conference in Philadelphia. Walter Ginter will join other prominent treatment and recovery leaders during the middle plenary session to talk about "Keeping Recovery the Focus".
In his plenary session, Mr. Ginter will focus specifically on how methadone became the pathway for him to reach his full potential and how he has taken that experience to create the MARS™ Project, a structured program of education and peer support that is helping many others across the country who are in medication-assisted treatment to strengthen their recovery. He will also share his work as an advocate for medication-assisted recovery, helping overcome the barriers and stigma that can fight against recovery efforts.
The 2013 AATOD Conference, which convenes opioid treatment providers, policy makers, and advocates from across the country for promoting access and improving outcomes to treatment, will hold its 5-day event from November 9th-13th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Experts in the field of MAT and recovery will share information, products, and perspectives on the latest in addiction treatment and recovery as part of the conference theme "Let Recovery Ring in a New Era".
Mr. Ginter will participate in the plenary session entitled "Keeping Recovery the Focus", which hones in on a new era that will require programs to adapt to the ongoing implementation of health care reform. Emphasis will be on the 50-year evolution of methadone treatment and where the field is today as an accredited, science-based modality.
The experts for the middle plenary session are Mary Jeanne Kreek, CMA, Vice President, Head of Laboratory of Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, New York; H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH, CAS, FASAM, Director, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Rockville, MD; and Mr. Ginter. The plenary session will be moderated by Roland C. Lamb, MA, Director, Office of Addiction Services, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS), Philadelphia, PA.
Mr. Ginter remarked, “It is an honor for MARS™ to participate in the 2013 AATOD Conference with such an esteemed group of behavioral health professionals.” Mr. Ginter continued, “As a nationally-recognized program with a long history of positive outcomes, MARS™ is proud to be part of the medication-assisted recovery community nationwide that is working tirelessly to improve treatment outcomes and fight the stigma that can negatively impact sustained recovery efforts.”
In addition to participating in the plenary sessions, MARS™ will be one of the featured exhibitors at the 2013 AATOD Conference as part of its push to expand its peer recovery and support services nationally. Their focus will be to showcase how MARS™ can be implemented within MAT programs (including Methadone or Suboxone) everywhere. The 2013 AATOD Conference exhibition will serve as a central gathering point for the opioid treatment community, offering significant opportunities for companies and attendees to interact with other professionals who are devoted to the treatment of opioid dependence throughout the nation and abroad. The registrants will include the decision makers in this field who spend over $1 billion annually treating approximately 310,000 patients in opioid treatment programs.
Those who are interested in creating their own MARS™ Project can receive information about the Beyond MARS™ Implementation Team Training by visiting the MARS™ exhibit at the 2013 AATOD Conference or by sending an email to BeyondMars(at)MARSProject(dot)org. For more information about the 2013 AATOD Conference, visit their web site at http://www.aatod.org.
About Medication-Assisted Recovery Services (MARS™)
MARS™ (Medication-Assisted Recovery Services) is a peer-initiated recovery support project, sponsored by the National Alliance of Medication-Assisted (NAMA) Recovery, which improves treatment outcomes and fights the stigma that can negatively impact sustained recovery efforts. In collaboration with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the original MARS™ Community was launched in 2006 with funding from a SAMHSA Recovery Community Services Program RCSP) grant.
In 2012, the Beyond MARS™ Training Institute was formed to replicate this model and implement MARS™ “satellite” programs across the United States. The growing MARS™ Community currently includes ten programs. MARS™ offers a wide range of training and technical assistance services. To learn more about Medication-Assisted Recovery Services, visit http://www.MarsProject.org or https://www.facebook.com/beyondmars.
Walter Ginter, +1 2032338266, [email protected]
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