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Western Reserve Hospital Pain Center Examines New Approaches to Care at 2nd Annual Seminar

Western Reserve Hospital Pain Center Examines New Approaches to Care at 2nd Annual Seminar

The physicians of the Center for Pain Medicine at Summa Western Reserve Hospital, in conjunction with several other area specialists, recently hosted their 2nd annual pain treatment summit entitled Chronic Pain Management: Improving the Patient’s Quality of Life on February 22 at the Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls. The event welcomed more than 130 area physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, nurses, pharmacists and medical students who registered to learn more about the use of less invasive, multidisciplinary pain treatment approaches.

The seminar was led by Dr. Samer Narouze, Chairman of the Center for Pain Medicine at Summa Western Reserve Hospital and aimed at the use of less invasive, multidisciplinary pain treatment approaches to re-envision chronic pain care, and to promote awareness about opiate and prescription drug abuse.

“Unfortunately, prescription medications can often become the catch-all for relief,” says Dr. Narouze. “A multidisciplinary approach brings more safety and value in treatment and we can surround the problem on all sides to more effectively ease the suffering of the patient and restore their quality of life.”

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Summa Western Reserve has pioneered this more comprehensive level of pain treatment with special emphasis on approaching chronic pain as a ‘disease’ and not a ‘symptom’.

“There are numerous and innovative approaches in which we can treat pain on a collaborative level,” says Dr. Robert Kent, President and CEO, Summa Western Reserve Hospital. “This event is a valuable experience in examining the ways we can diagnose and treat the pain without adding to the prescription drug epidemic that has grown exponentially in Ohio and around the country. Our Center for Pain Medicine continues to provide a more comprehensive look at relieving the problem with improved outcomes, and to do so in a way that helps eliminate the reliance on medications. We want other healthcare providers to take notice and see what we are doing as a model of success to expand similar initiatives.”

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Special guest presenter Orman Hall, Director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services also addressed the audience about Ohio’s growing opiate and prescription drug epidemic and discuss ways to establish addiction prevention, treatment and recovery measures throughout the state. Director Hall is widely known and respected for his former role as Chairman of the Fairfield County Opiate Task Force and for his efforts in combating prescription drug abuse. He has more than 20 years experience in the management, planning, monitoring and evaluation of public mental health and substance abuse services. A graduate of Marshall University, Director Hall holds a Master’s degree in Social Science Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Education.

Presentation topics for the seminar included, Pain Management: A Profession or Business, Epidemiology and Impact of Chronic Pain, Opioids for Chronic Pain: Risk Management, NSAIDS: An Update… When to Use and What to Monitor, Non-Opioid Adjuvant in Neuropathic Pain, Back Pain: When to Image and When to Inject?, Back Pain: When to Operate, Headache Management 2013 Style, State of Ohio Update,Common Sports Injuries in the Primary Care Setting, Own the Bone Program, Obesity and Pain, Cancer Pain: An Update on Interventional Management, Depression, Insomnia and Chronic Pain: The Ugly Triangle.

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