Episode #92 High Truths on Drugs and Addiction with Martha Waller and Tara Tucker on Paramedic us of Suboxone

Paramedics are doing more than naloxone for drugs overdoses. They are starting addiction treatment and Suboxone right on the streets.  Listen to Martha Waller and Tara Tucker talk about their prehospital Suboxone project. This is a pilot project and there are still kinks to work out before this can be implemented on a wide scale. But Martha and Tara are innovators, think outside the box, and bring hope and solutions to the issue of addiction.

Martha Waller, Ph.D.

Dr. Martha Waller is a Senior Program Evaluator I and has been with PIRE since 2003. She received her Ph.D. in Maternal and Child Health with a minor in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 and her M.A. in Social and Experimental Psychology from New Mexico State University in 1999. Dr. Waller was a Fellow in the Maternal and Child Health-Public Health Leadership Institute (MCH-PHLI). This prestigious Fellowship is a year-long leadership development program targeted to upper-level leaders in State Title V programs, family advocacy, and other organizations that work on behalf of and promote healthy families, particularly the maternal and child health populations in the US and its territories.

Dr. Waller has served as lead evaluator for the New Mexico Office of Substance Abuse Prevention since 2007, evaluating the SAMHSA funded NM SPF SIG, SPE, PFS II, PFS 2015, SPF Rx, and PDO grants and all SAPT Block grant substance abuse prevention programming. She has extensive experience working with communities and state agencies to build capacity around each step of the SPF model including needs assessment, building community readiness and coalition capacity, strategic planning, program implementation, evaluation, cultural competency, and sustainability.

She also leads a grant from the National Center for Responsible Gaming to assess problem gambling among at-risk youth and adults in NM. Most recently, she received a NIDA R21 to evaluate an innovative approach to opioid overdose prevention in Forsyth County, NC where community paramedics create a bridge to MAT immediately following reversal by offering up to seven days of buprenorphine while collaborating with peer navigators to provide motivational interviewing and support until the person is enrolled in MAT. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina also funded Dr. Waller to conduct a similar study in Stanly County, NC.

Dr. Waller has worked on several NIH longitudinal studies using Add Health data examining health behaviors and outcomes among adolescents and young adults, with a particular focus on mental health, substance use, sexual risk taking, and sexual orientation. She led an NIAAA R03 that examined the role of alcohol outlet density on drinking behaviors and intimate partner violence using Add Health.

Finally, Martha led an Indian Health Services grant to provide evaluation training and TA to eleven Tribal HPDP grantees across the county. Her research interests include exploring the effect of environmental characteristics associated with risk behavior and health disparities and environmental-level prevention strategies particularly among adolescent and young adult populations. She enjoys being involved in both research and evaluation opportunities.

Tara Tucker, Paramedic

Tara is a Paramedic and Mental Health Professional, leads Forsyth County’s Opioid Task Force. She has been instrumental in pulling together community partners to work on fighting the opioid epidemic from a variety of angles. Currently, she serves as a Captain with Forsyth County Emergency Services and developed the foundation for their Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Team, better known as Community Paramedics.  She also provides trainings on Crisis Intervention Teams and Post Overdose Response Teams.

Tara received her undergrad from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master’s from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has worked in behavioral health, both in the community and in the hospital, and emergency services environments. Her experience provides her with the knowledge to better bridge the two fields in their practices and beliefs. She spent ten years of her career working on Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Teams and trained others on the ACT Model. This foundation strengthened Tara’s belief that we must meet people where they are and treatment should be community-based to better engage people.

Tara places high value on bringing about creative, collaborative change, and often speaks on topics that are innovative and encourages others to rethink the way they perceive addiction, recovery and leadership. She addresses the need for new solutions that will empower communities by using their existing resources and working through issues and barriers. She often shares successful strategies and works with groups on how to implement system change. Tara is a passionate communicator who aims to serve her community.

Tara strongly strongly encourages inclusion of those with personal lived experiences and family members in change efforts. She enjoys connecting with others, sharing insights and experiences, and brainstorming ideas around change and transformation. Once you meet Tara, you will see she is an advocate for system change and has an unwavering passion to help those suffering from addiction as well as their family members. Her business and information technology education and experiences coupled with her clinical experiences allow her to be a visionary thinker with revolutionary ideas.