Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is something that most medical professionals must manage in their daily work with patients, and it’s no different in the PALTC space. Directors of skilled nursing and long-term care facilities are no different. Although many of our patients are more likely to be elderly or frail, many of them also live with ongoing challenges with SUD.
In fact, more than 87% of people with SUD never receive any form of treatment, and often those patients come to our facilities seeking treatment for other medical conditions. Medical directors, nursing staff, and other medical professionals within our facilities need to be prepared to treat these patients in a way that minimizes chaos, ensures compliance with ADA and other requirements, and ensures that their medical needs are met with a focus on harm reduction and compassion.
On Friday, November 7, I’ll be presenting at the MAGIC 2025 Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN, entitled “Navigating Behavioral and Mental Health in Older Adults.” The title of my presentation is “When SUD Moves In: From Chaos to Care in PALTC,” and we’ll be focusing on the challenges facing medical directors and their facilities. In the session, we’ll:
- Identify how SUD may affect you in your clinical practice in PALTC.
- Identify practical strategies for preparing facilities and staff when caring for residents with SUD
- Apply principles of harm reduction to transform high-risk situations into opportunities for consistent, compassionate care.
If you’re not able to participate in this year’s conference, please check back soon for a summary of the session here on the blog!
