Foundation Partners Contributing to the Opioid Task Force
4.16.2019
Chris Hargrett, Associate, CHIME Foundation
CHIME Foundation would like to thank all the Foundation partners who have contributed to the Opioid Task Force.
In 2018, the CHIME Opioid Task Force was formed, with CHIME members Ed Kopetsky and Jim Turnbull as co-chairs, to address the major opioid epidemic that has impacted individuals and families in the United States. This crisis claimed the lives of over 43,000 Americans in 2017. The mission of the Task Force is to “turn the tide on the opioid epidemic [by] using the knowledge and expertise of the nation’s healthcare IT leaders.” This includes using the expertise of CHIME members and resources to develop education and best practice sharing to hospitals and communities; and engaging policy leaders to advocate for the healthcare IT policies and programs. The Opioid Task Force Playbook is being developed to help CIOs and CMIOs build programs to address the opioid epidemic. The task force also launched a webinar series, which will continue in 2019 and beyond. Foundation member Bruce Cerullo, co-chair of the Task Force’s fundraising campaign, has been a driving force behind the fundraising efforts.
With a two-year fundraising goal of $750,000, the Opioid Task Force has received over $350,000 in donations and pledges as of March 31, 2019, with numerous generous donations from Foundation partners. A special thank you to the list of CHIME Foundation Partners below that have contributed and/or pledged to the Opioid Task Force.
The list of contributors continues to grow. The Task Force’s goal behind the fundraiser is to create a central web-based repository for healthcare organizations to obtain knowledge and resources about the opioid crisis.
In addition to bringing awareness to the opioid crisis, there are College LIVE webinars – just like the one held on April 3, “Implementing Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substance to Meet Requirements of New Opioid Law” – scheduled in July and October of this year that are open to all CHIME members and Foundation partners.
If you have contributed to or participated in a fundraising initiative for the CHIME Opioid Task Force during the week of HIMSS, please share your story with us by contacting [email protected].
For more information about the Opioid Task Force, visit https://chimecentral.org/opioid-task-force.