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Description

This training will provide knowledge regarding xylazine, a CNS depressant, which has been linked to an increasing number of overdose deaths in the US. This training will discuss the physiologic effects of xylazine, manifestations of xylazine intoxication, overdose, communicable infections associated with xylazine use, and wound care for persons injecting xylazine.

NOTE: This training is 60 minutes long. There will be an optional 30-minute Q&A session following the training, which will not count for credit. 

Intended audience

Providers, nurses, social workers, other clinical staff, and non-clinicians.

Speakers

Tehya Johnson, MSN, AGPCNP-BC

Teyha Johnson is a Nurse Practitioner working at the intersection of people experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders. She specializes in harm reduction, street outreach, and primary care based in Boston, MA, both as an advocate and a provider.

Nancy Regan-Brooks, MSN, FNP, CNM, CARN-AP (she/her)

Nancy is a clinical nurse educator for Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance, where she contributes to the development and delivery of continuing education programs, peer-reviewed publications, evidence-based clinical guidelines, and other resources for providers supporting patients with substance use disorders. Nancy is also a nurse practitioner, board certified in both family medicine and midwifery with over a decade of experience working in addiction treatment. Prior to joining the Grayken TTA team, Nancy held a position as director of the substance use disorder program at the Community Health Center of Cape Cod, where she maintains clinical practice. Nancy began her career in a community health center in South

Boston managing a wide range of pediatric, prenatal, and adult patients. She later transitioned to addiction medicine at High Point Treatment Center in Jamaica Plain where she worked in an acute treatment setting of medically supervised detoxification and treated acute and chronic medical issues on a Crisis Stabilization Services Unit. Nancy also participated in the HEALing Communities Study — a multi-state study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse aimed at reducing overdose deaths — as a lead community partner, facilitating treatment on demand and engaging and empowering other community providers. She received her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in 2011 from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and her Master of Science in Nursing Midwifery in 2017 from Frontier Nursing University. She also holds certification as a Certified Addiction Registered Nurse – Advanced Practice (CARN-AP) through the Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB).

Objectives

Following this training, participants will have the knowledge necessary to:

1. Describe the physiologic effects of xylazine.
2. Recognize manifestations of intoxication in persons using xylazine.
3. Recall signs of xylazine overdose and appropriate response.
4. Identify common skin and soft tissue infections associated with xylazine use.
5. Describe practices to decrease risk of skin and soft tissue infections in persons using xylazine.
6. Recall methods of wound care for persons injecting xylazine.

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