FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2010
Contact: Kelley Elliott (267.350.7699 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
National Deputy Director of Drug Control Policy will Present Federal Priorities, Receive Public Health Award
PHILADELPHIA –– In 1995, President Bill Clinton proclaimed the first full week of April as National Public Health Week. Each year, the public health community celebrates by focusing on issues that are important to improving the public's health. This year, Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), one of the largest public health institutes in the nation, will present Highlighting the Federal Agenda for Drug Control Policy, featuring A. Thomas McLellan, to be held on Friday, April 9 from 9 a.m. to noon at the PHMC Training Center, 260 S. Broad Street.
Participants will learn about substance abuse treatment from a national and local public health perspective in order to apply the latest research findings to their community initiatives.
A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, will speak on the latest developments in federal drug control policies and their implications for addiction treatment in public health, behavioral health and primary care.
Over the past year, National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske, Deputy Director A. Thomas McLellan, and various federal agencies have been developing President Obama's first National Drug Control Strategy, which will reflect a comprehensive and balanced approach to reducing drug use and its consequences. “Given that the first ever National Drug Control Strategy will be released soon, Dr. McLellan’s visit to PHMC is timely and appropriate for those of us committed to addressing the addiction needs of Philadelphia and the region,” said Richard Cohen, PhD, president and chief executive officer at PHMC. In addition, the health care reform bill requires all health care plans to cover substance use disorders, address prevention, and promote workforce development; all of which are issues essential to substance use disorder services and overall health care.
Joining Dr. McLellan will be several of PHMC’s experts in research and addiction services, Lynne Kotranski, PhD, vice president of Research and Evaluation, and Leslie Hurtig, MPA, vice president of Behavioral Health Services. Also scheduled to speak are George Woody, MD, professor, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and principal investigator of the Delaware Valley Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network, and Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, director of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services. Richard J. Cohen, PhD, president and chief executive officer of PHMC, will present the Public Health Hero Award to Dr. McLellan in honor and recognition of his contributions to the public health of our region and nation.
About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that builds healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, businesses and other community-based organizations. It fulfills its mission to improve the health of the community by providing outreach, health promotion, education, research, planning, technical assistance and direct services. PHMC has served the Greater Philadelphia region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.
About A. Thomas McLellan, PhD
A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Treatment Research Institute (TRI), a not-for-profit research and development institute in Philadelphia. McLellan is nationally and internationally recognized for his more than 30 years of research into treatment effectiveness for substance abuse patients. McLellan has published more than 400 articles and chapters on addiction research and serves as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. Among McLellan's many honors and awards are the Life Achievement Award of the American Society of Addiction Medicine in 2003 and in 2004 he was named Innovator of the Year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. McLellan received his B.A. from Colgate University and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. He received postgraduate training in psychology at Oxford University in England.
