General Membership Meeting Focuses on Latest Research

In addition to a report on UHHP policy development and advocacy activities and plans, the meeting will feature:

“Overdose Prevention & Response”

This presentation will describe the implementation of an Overdose Prevention and Response training for injection drug users in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles.  The program trains participants to recognize and respond to potentially fatal opiate overdoses and distributes naloxone, an opiate antagonist used to reverse opiate overdose.  We will describe the program curriculum and present data from a longitudinal study designed to evaluate the program.  Among other results, Skid Row program participants reported using the skills they learned to reverse 26 potentially fatal overdoses.

Presenters:

Karla D. Wagner
Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California

Mario Gonzalez 
Harm Reduction Center 
Homeless Health Care Los Angeles

"Community-Associated MRSA (CAMRSA): A New Normal for Los Angeles"

Elizabeth Bancroft, MD, SM, from Los Angeles County’s Dept. of Public  
Health, Acute Communicable Disease Control Program (ACDC) will speak on
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the bacterium responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans.  She will describe the work of her team of epidemiologists and how lessons learned can affect our work with healthcare for the homeless.

Shelter Partnerships - Homeless Older Adults Strategic Plan

There are between 3,000 and 4,000 homeless individuals aged 62 and older in Los Angeles County and that number is growing.  In March, 2008, Shelter Partnership released its 18-month comprehensive assessment of homeless older adults.  Steve Renahan, a senior policy advisor at Shelter Partnership and author of the Strategic Plan, will present key findings and recommendations intended to better serve and understand this target population.