🙋 This is an in person-only event.

We have seen dramatic changes in addictive substances over time. The illicit drug supply, legal “gas station drugs,” and THC products and potencies have completely transformed substance use.

We’ll address the trends being seen by behavioral health professionals and experienced by people in recovery, and we’ll explore community-based efforts, including harm reduction and treatment options.

Guest Presenters:

Dr. Keith Kuhfahl, DO is a board-certified emergency physician through the American Board of Emergency Medicine.  He graduated from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2005.  He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2009, graduating with honors and an academic achievement award.

He is currently the associate medical director for emergency services at Beebe Healthcare.  He has served on the Delaware Overdose System of Care since 2024 and worked on the subcommittee that developed the Delaware Emergency Department Opioid Use Disorder Guidance document.  He also serves on the Delaware Addiction Action Committee, Rural Subcommittee.

He is the co-medical director for the PIVOTS project at Beebe, which plans on increasing emergency department services for medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, develop additional clinical guidelines for substance abuse and increase recovery services at Beebe Healthcare.  He is excited to advance care for patients with substance abuse and opioid use disorder in Sussex County.

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Emily Hains, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC, is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with a decade of nursing experience. She is passionate about addiction medicine, and the treatment of substance use disorders. Emily earned her Master of Science in Nursing (PMHNP) from Frontier Nursing University and both her Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Delaware Technical Community College.

Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Emily worked at Beebe Healthcare as a behavioral health nurse within the main campus hospital and on the community mobile health clinic. Her behavioral health community nursing role has provided her with experience in identifying and navigating the trends in the current drug supply and sharing that information with her patients. This allowed her the opportunity to collaborate with patients to make shared decisions regarding their treatment plans. She is now the PIVOTS Project Coordinator and oversees the implementation of a grant-funded project that will focus on expanding access to care for patients with opioid use disorder and reducing stigma associated with substance use disorders.

Favorite quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead