September/October 2024

• NPAC’s Executive Director attended the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council fall meeting in Bethesda, Maryland.

• NPAC’s Executive Director attended the fall governing board meeting for the NIH PURPOSE program, which endeavors to build the pain workforce.

• Several members of NPAC were invited to join or chair strategic planning subcommittees to set research priorities for the NIH HEAL Initiative, the money allocated by Congress for pain and use disorders, including Dr. Tamara Baker, co-chair of the Health Equity and Pain Across the Life Course, Quána Madison, a member of the same subcommittee, and Kate Nicholson, a member of the Implementation and Health Services Subcommittee.

• NPAC welcomed former Colorado Senator Joan Ginal to its Board of Directors. Senator Ginal sponsored SB 144, Prescription Drugs for Chronic Pain, the bill NPAC worked on that became law in 2023.

• NPAC Executive Director spoke on legal and policy issues at the Southern Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting and received their President’s Distinguished Service Award. 

• NPAC’s Executive Director addressed Equity in Pain Management at the First Annual Convening of the Pain Collaborative.