Addiction Medicine Grand Rounds: Reimagining the Recovery Continuum of Care - The Role of Sobering Centers in Care for Acute Alcohol and Drug Intoxication

The Yale Program in Addiction Medicine is pleased to welcome Shannon Smith-Bernardin, PhD, RN, CNL, as speaker for Addiction Medicine Rounds on January 23, 2024.

This event will be held in a virtual format.

Title: Reimagining the Recovery Continuum of Care: The Role of Sobering Centers in Care for Acute Alcohol & Drug Intoxication

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the history, programmatic elements, and policy considerations of sobering care in the pre-hospital, community-based care of acute alcohol and/or other drug intoxication.
2. Summarize the role that sobering care may play in engaging with individuals along the spectrum of harmful substance use and substance use disorders.
3. Engage in discussions around the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of establishing sobering care as a core component of the recovery continuum of care.

Dr. Smith-Bernardin is Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California - San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing as well as President and Co-Founder of the National Sobering Collective. A registered nurse consultant, researcher, educator, and health care practitioner, Dr. Smith-Bernardin has worked in homeless health care since 2006, with expertise in sobering centers for the care of acutely intoxicated adults, alcohol harm reduction including managed alcohol programs, medical respite/ recuperative care, and street-based homeless engagement teams. Her research focuses on reducing harm from alcohol and drug use, including evaluation of sobering centers, managed alcohol programs, and COVID-related harm reduction efforts. She is additionally co-faculty for a newly-funded Street Medicine/ Street Health Outreach clinical experience, and Nursing Health Policy. Dr. Smith Bernardin is the first President of the 501(c)3 non-profit National Sobering Collaborative, with the mission to identify, develop, and disseminate translational research, best practices and policies, and education towards the formation and sustainability of sobering centers for the care of individuals with harmful, hazardous, and/or disordered substance use. She holds a doctorate from UCSF, a Master’s in Nursing from Western University of Health Sciences, and a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.

Addiction Medicine Rounds are CME accredited. Each session will be assigned 1 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM.