Building Collaborative Community Capacity to Serve Women and Children in Recovery

1.5 CE Provided

Panelists:

Lisa M Cleveland, PhD, APRN, CPNP, IBCLC, FAAN

Kevin J. Downey, PhD

Beverly Watts Davis, MA

Verna Eskridge

Robert Nolan, MD

John B. Hertz, M ARCH

Tiffany Harper

Lisa M Cleveland, PhD, APRN, CPNP, IBCLC, FAAN, Professor, Mary Jane Ihle Clark Professor in Caregiving, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and a tenured Associate Professor at UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing. Her innovative research with mother-infant dyads impacted by opioid use has contributed to changes in clinical practice and improved outcomes. Her recovery residence, Casa Mia, is a collaborative partnership between the School of Nursing and the nonprofit, Crosspoint, Inc. Casa Mia provides safe and supportive housing for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorder where they can recover with their children.   In addition, the findings of Dr. Cleveland’s Maternal Opioid Morbidity Study are providing insight into the contextual factors surrounding maternal opioid use relapse and overdose deaths; the leading cause of maternal mortality in TX and a growing cause nationwide. Dr. Cleveland is now developing and psychometrically analyzing a brief screening instrument to help identify women at-risk for overdose death so they may be referred to life-saving resources. Further, Dr. Cleveland is leading the Texas Targeted Opioid Response to ensure access to Narcan, and opioid overdose identification and reversal education: moreNARCANplease.com. She is also leading a statewide community paramedicine program (TTOR Bexar County) to prevent overdose, increase the use of peer recovery services, and improve access to treatment. 

Kevin J. Downey, PhD, Chief Strategy Officer at Crosspoint, Inc. and Consultant, Dr. Downey has a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis and Administration from St. Louis University, a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Sam Houston State University, and a Bachelors Degree in Social Work from the University of Iowa. He has over 45 years of experience in agencies serving the mentally, physically and socially disenfranchised.  As President and CEO of Crosspoint, Inc. from 2006 to 2022, Dr. Downey oversaw all aspects of the organization's operations.  His responsibilities included strategic planning, staff management, external agency representation, system linkage and innovative program development.  He now serves as Crosspoint’s Chief Strategy Officer and founded a consulting firm specializing in innovative program design and strategic collaboration.  Dr. Downey is a former commissioner for the American Corrections Association’s Commission on Accreditation for Corrections and is a past president of the International Community Corrections Association.  In 2018, Dr. Downey chaired the International Community Corrections Association’s annual research conference in San Antonio.  In 2016, Dr. Downey was a key speaker at the Community Corrections Conference in Zhanzhou, China.  He was then a featured guest on the CCTV show Dialogue in Beijing to discuss the state and future of community corrections in the US vs. China.  Dr. Downey was recognized by the National Association of Social Workers’ Alamo Branch as their 2019 Public Citizen of the Year.

Beverly Watts Davis, MA, Chief Officer of Resource Development and Program Support and Senior Vice President for Texas, WestCare Foundation.  Beverly Watts Davis has spent her career working in disadvantaged communities to ensure access to health and human services, safe neighborhoods, and opportunities for economic stability. Her work has been recognized with three Secretariat Awards for Outstanding work by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and she was selected by the Attorney General of the United States as the first Texan to receive the Volunteer of the Year Award for the prevention of juvenile delinquency. She was also awarded with the National Faith-Based and Community Leadership Award for the engagement of faith-based organizations in behavioral health and the PRIDE National Youth Leadership Award and the National Prevention Network Achievement Award for ensuring the youth prevention was supported and funded. She has been inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame and was honored by the San Antonio Bar Foundation with the prestigious PEACEMAKER Award. She has received the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director's Award for Community Leadership, the Department of Defense (DOD) Commander's Award for Outstanding Leadership, and the National Crime Prevention Council's "Outstanding Citizen Advocate Award" for advocacy for community crime prevention. Beverly Watts Davis brings a unique set of experiences to the behavioral health field as an Elected Official, Director of a Federal Agency, Non-profit Director, Adjunct Professor, Community Organizer, and successful Policy Advocate that has allowed her to navigate various operational levels for San Antonio’s success.

Verna Eskridge, community representative, is a resident of Dellcrest Neighborhood (where Women’s Wellness Campus is to be located).  She has lived in this neighborhood longer than any other resident.  Previously served as Dellcrest Area Neighborhood Association President for six years. Openly expressed to other Dellcrest residents her belief that the Women’s Wellness Campus will be a valuable asset to the neighborhood. Proud member of the Women’s Wellness Campus Visioning Committee.

Sister Gabriella Lohan, Sisters of the Holy Spirit has long been a very strong advocate for vulnerable citizens, especially minorities and the indigent.  She has long supported the mission of Crosspoint as well as the clients served by the organization.  Sr. Gabriella has helped lead the charge for social justice related to Crosspoint programs since 2009 when she and the other Sisters at her convent were steadfast in standing shoulder to shoulder with the organization as they faced significant challenges in purchasing an East Side convent for expanded service delivery.  Sr. Gabriella has always provided expert assistance in setting up and carrying out essential meetings with community members, opinion leaders, public officials and elected leaders.  Her indomitable spirit for such work only grew in 2021 as she stepped up to serve as Chair of the 19-member Women’s Wellness Campus Visioning Committee and Chair of the WWC Donor Development Work Group, while helping to initiate several key meetings with elected officials to garner WWC support at critical junctures in the development of the campus.

Robert Nolan, MD, Professor, Vice Chair for GME, Associate Dean for GME and Inpatient Pediatrics, University Hospital. Dr. Nolan is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Medicine.  He completed his pediatric residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and his general pediatrics academic fellowship at Duke University School of Medicine.  He has been a member of the pediatric faculty at UT Health San Antonio for 38 years and is currently a UT System Distinguished Teaching Professor and the Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education.  He has been the collaborating physician for the School of Nursing Pediatric Nurse Practitioners since March 2018.

John B. Hertz, M ARCH, is an award-winning academic, architect and author with works published internationally in English, Spanish and Portugues. He has been a professor and visiting faculty member at universities in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America, and for a decade was the Dean of the Escuela de Arquitectura at the Universidad de Puerto Rico. The focus of much of his professional and academic work is in sustainable design as applied to housing.

Tiffany Harper, CrossPoint, Inc. is a recovering addict. From the ages 14 to 25, she struggled with a heroin addiction. After 11 years of using, she admitted myself into the NAS treatment facility 3 weeks before giving birth to her son, Matthew. Due to her use of heroin in my addiction, her son was removed by CPS right after birth. She did not let that stop me with moving forward in my treatment because she was determined to do whatever it took to get him back. After completing treatment and other requirements from CPS, she was referred to Crosspoint’s Casa Mia program where she was reunited with Matthew on December 2018. She completed the program and has grown so much in the past 4 years. She has learned how to be a great mother and a role model for other mothers who are dealing with the same struggles she had to overcome. She is working for Crosspoint and attending college to become a License chemical dependency counselor. 4 years ago, she was lost and felt like she had no purpose in life. Today she knows her purpose in life. She is a survivor of addiction and trauma who will dedicate my life to giving hope of recovery.

 

CONTINUING EDUCATION STATEMENTS

 CNE:

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

CSWE:

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Nursing is approved by the Texas   

State Board of Social Worker Examiners to provide Social Worker CE.

CME:

The UT Health Science Center San Antonio is accredited by the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education) to provide continuing medical education for physicians

This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™

CEU:

The Centralized Training Infrastructure for Evidence Based Practices is a provider of continuing education for the following clinical licenses: Psychologists, Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC), Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors (LCDC) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT) Counselors.