Westminster Hosts Missouri Medical Association Alliance Fall Conference

Dr. David Roebuck, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, addressed
the group of health professionals and Westminster students who gathered to learn more
about managing opioid abuse in Missouri. 

Westminster College hosted the Missouri State Medical Association (MSMA) Alliance Fall Conference at 12 p.m. Oct. 10 in Mueller Auditorium. Conference topics included “Lessons Learned? Identifying the Challenges Facing Missouri’s Criminal Justice System” and “The Addiction Epidemic: A Community Problem with a Community Solution.” A panel discussion followed the presentations, which focused on opioid use and misuse. Lunch preceded the program.

Conference presenters included Isaac Amon, JD, LLM, Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, who recently worked for the Department of Corrections in Jefferson City, MO. Lauren Zehnle also presented. Zehnle is Owner and Founder of St. Louis Addiction Counseling, LLC. MSMA Alliance Health Vice President Kelly O’Leary joined the panel discussion.

Dr. David Roebuck, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, also addressed the group of about 40 people, who primarily included health professionals and Westminster students. Roebuck says the topics of substance abuse and addiction are intensely important to his wife and him as a result of their son’s struggles with substance abuse. “Lynette and I were involved in parent-support groups in Columba and St. Louis for almost two years and know first-hand the toll of addiction on families as well as those struggling with addiction,” Roebuck says.

Today Roebuck’s son has been sober for more than seven years and is now a counselor himself. “Many other families are much less fortunate,” he says.

Roebuck adds that Westminster’s involvement in the MSMA Alliance Fall Conference is a step in the right direction to help with current complex issues in health care. “This was a wonderful event to host on our beautiful campus, and I believe they will return in future years,” he says.