The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) recognized contributions to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) with nine awards to individuals nominated and selected by their peers.
The Nyswander/Dole award, named for the doctors who created methadone as a treatment for OUD, was awarded to nine individuals who were nominated and selected by their peers for extraordinary service in the opioid treatment community.
Sara E. Gefvert was given the Richard Lane/Robert Holden patient advocacy award. Zachary Talbott, president and chairman of the National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery and president of Talbott Legacy Centers, presented the award to Gefvert, who is a certified peer recovery specialist and a recovery advocate from Pennsylvania. (See photo).
The Richard Lane/Robert Holden patient advocacy award was named for two recovering heroin users. Richard Lane, upon his release from prison in 1967, established on the first methadone treatment programs in the county, and in 1974 became executive director of Man Alive. He later served as vice president of the American Methadone Treatment Association, the precursor to AATOD, and vice chairman of the Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Maryland. By disclosing his own treatment experiences, Lane became an inspiration to patients and colleagues. Holden was the director of PIDARC, a methadone treatment program in the District of Columbia, and later was vice president of AATOD.
Other Nyswander/Dole awards went to:
- Jeffrey Baxter, MD (Massachusetts)
- Kenneth Bossert, BS, CASAC (New York)
- Ann Ciekot, BA (Maryland)
- Jean-Pierre Daulouede, MD (France)
- Charissa Fortinos, MD, MSc (Washington)
- Cheryl Gardine, LCSW posthumously (Missouri)
- Michelle Lofwall, MS, MD, DFAPA, DFASAM (Kentucky)
- Eric Morse, MD (North Carolina)
- Jennifer Smith (Pennsylvania)
The prestigious Friend of the Field Award was established by AATOD’s Board of Directors, and recognizes contributions to the field by an individual whose work has had a significant impact on treatment for OUDs, even though not directly related to opioid treatment. This year the award went to the Honorable Jeri Beth Cohen. This award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the field of opioid treatment by an individual whose work, although not directly related to opioid treatment, has had a significant impact on our field.
