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March 13, 2018 (Cleveland)

Opioid Consortium Names Dr. Randy Jernejcic as First Physician Chair

The Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium has named Randy Jernejcic, MD, chief medical officer for University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center, as its first physician chair. The chair, who will serve a one-year term, will work closely with the executive director to guide the activities of the Opioid Consortium and implement its strategic plan.

The appointment of Dr. Randy Jernejcic was one of several steps recently taken to create a strong structure to support and propel forward the work of the Opioid Consortium. The new structure includes an Executive Committee, comprising The Center for Health Affairs’ leadership team and the designated lead clinicians from the five Opioid Consortium hospitals, including Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, Northeast Ohio VA Healthcare System, St. Vincent’s Charity Medical Center, and University Hospitals.

In addition to the Executive Committee, the following two subcommittees will further support the work of the Opioid Consortium:

• Government Relations - The purpose of this subcommittee is to monitor opioid-related policy and legislation as it pertains to hospital systems and provide written or verbal advocacy or testimony as warranted.
• Hospital Foundation - The purpose of this subcommittee is to monitor and act upon opioid-related funding needs that serve the shared interests of Opioid Consortium members. 

The Executive Committee recently finalized the following mission and vision statements, which will serve to guide the work of the Opioid Consortium:

• Mission - To serve as a model hospital system-based and physician-led consortium that significantly reduces the impact of the opioid epidemic in Northeast Ohio by sharing and implementing evidence-based practices, promoting policy changes, and increasing prevention efforts.
• Vision - To be the cornerstone for the collaborative work of the region’s hospitals to significantly reduce opioid addiction, overdose and death.

Currently, the Executive Committee is meeting weekly to finalize the Opioid Consortium’s strategic action plan. The group is also working on a collaborative initiative that will involve sharing resources and best practices to develop a program to reinforce safe opioid use across hospital systems. The Opioid Consortium also recently welcomed to its membership the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio, which will be an important partner.

For more on the Opioid Consortium and Dr. Randy Jernejcic's new position, contact us.