WV Participates in National Anti-Drug Conference

West Virginia will be represented at the 2010 Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America's (CADCA's) Annual National Leadership Forum, which is this week in National Harbour, Maryland. Cabell County's Anne McGee and Marshall University's Carla Lapelle are among the presenters of the "Campus and Community Collaboration: Working Together to Prevent Substance Abuse Among College Students" workshop. Also, WV's CADCA Association will be presented with the National State Association Award at the award luncheon.

WV Partnership Bill Moves Along

House Bill 4150 passed TR 1/28/2010 in the House Judiciary Committee and has been referred to the House Committee on Finance.

February Health Observances

Health Observances in the month of February include: American Heart Month, International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month, National Children's Dental Health Month, Children of Alcoholics Week (Feb 14-20), and National Donor Day (Feb 14). Source: National Health Information Center

WV Partnership Bills Introduced

Two identical bills have been introduced in the WV Legislature that will create the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being in code: SB 330 and HB 4150. The WV Legislature’s website contains the bills in their entirety and information on their status, which will be updated as the bills proceed through the legislative process.

WV Partnership Releases Annual Report

The WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being's 2009 annual report is now available online.

New SAMHSA Administrator Sworn In

The new Administrator for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) was sworn in this week. Pamela S. Hyde, J.D., brings more than 30 years of health and human services experience to the post. Hyde previously served as secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department, and director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health, the Ohio Department of Human Services, and the Seattle Department of Housing and Human Services. She also has worked as a CEO of a private nonprofit behavioral healthcare organization. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says "Pamela Hyde has worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of New Mexico to expand access to health and human services programs and improve their quality…. Pamela's health policy expertise and management experience will be invaluable to our department." SAMHSA is the federal agency that provides most of the funding for prevention in WV. Additional info is available at www.samhsa.gov.

Happy Anniversary Prevention Research!

2009 marks the 35th anniversary of The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Created by Congress in 1974, NIDA brought "the power of science" to the field of substance abuse. NIDA Director Nora Volkow summarizes their accomplishments at www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_notes/NNvol22N6/DirRepVol22N6.html.