A board that advises Bernalillo County programs on addiction treatment and harm reduction is looking for four new members. The 15-seat board includes medical providers and addiction specialists.
Dr. Laura Rifka Stern heads the Bernalillo County Addiction Treatment Advisory Board, which is voluntary and meets once a month. She is also a family physician and the medical director at the Westside Emergency Health Center.
“We're trying to be a diversified board in the sense that we want people working in different areas, so it's not all the same people from the same place with one one set of ideas,” she said.
The board does not establish policies or programs, but it does give input on county programs, especially best practices in addiction treatment.
Stern said that recently, it worked to get medication-assisted treatment for substance abuse disorder at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
“That's one of the county's biggest treatment centers, unfortunately,” she said.
The board is currently looking for a prospective member from the University of New Mexico Hospital as well as applicants who work in substance use disorder treatment, youth mental health and veteran services.
There is no application deadline; the seats will be posted until they are filled.
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