Las Vegas, NV – Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center is pleased to announce the addition of Addiction Medicine to our Graduate Medical Education Program. This program will be the first addiction medicine fellowship in Nevada specializing in training physicians on substance abuse.
The Addiction Medicine program received initial accreditation this week from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
The Addiction Medicine Fellowship is a one-year clinical fellowship with advanced training in addiction medicine. The fellowship will prepare physicians for clinical and academic careers in Addiction Medicine with a particular focus on developing and enhancing evidence-based addiction prevention and treatment services for all patients.
The goal of the new fellowship is in part to combat the opioid crisis in Nevada. According to the Centers for Disease Control, drug overdose deaths continue to rise in our country. From 1999 to 2017 more than 700,000 people died from a drug overdose. In 2018 alone, 67,367 people died. Across 36 states drug overdoses have become the leading cause of injury deaths. Nearly half of all overdose deaths involve prescription drugs.
“The approval of an addiction medicine fellowship is critically needed in Nevada where addiction has impacted so many in our community,” Program Director Dr. Maureen Strohm Said. “We believe training our physicians on addiction will save lives.”
Beyond substance abuse, the addiction medicine fellowship provides an opportunity for physicians to become specialized in treating patients suffering from other behavioral abnormalities and addictive behaviors such as gambling or sex addiction.
While some addiction fellowships only train psychiatrists, this addiction medicine fellowship is multidisciplinary, accepting physicians from many different specialties, including family medicine and psychiatry.
Now that initial accreditation is in place, Southern Hills will begin recruiting two physicians for the one-year fellowship, set to begin July 1.
The fellows will have the opportunity to work in many different places throughout the region, such as MountainView Hospital, Sunrise Hospital, as well as Nevada Health Centers.
“Addiction doesn't just affect one person, it ripples through families and our entire community. It is time we as healthcare professionals do what we can to stop this crisis,” Alexis Mussi, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Hills Hospital said. “This addiction medicine fellowship is a step in the right direction to helping those who need it.”
About Sunrise Health Graduate Medical Education Consortium
Southern Hills Hospital's residency program is a part of the Sunrise Health Graduate Medical Education Consortium, which currently has 153 residents based at MountainView and Southern Hills. Sunrise Health Graduate Medical Education received a significant amount of applications for a limited number of positions, and successfully matched and filled all resident positions.
Southern Hills GME program is a part of HCA Healthcare Sunrise Consortium which includes
To apply or to learn more about the Addiction Medicine Fellowship, visit GME at Sunrise.