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December 16, 2021

The Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium Welcomes Dr. Joan Papp as Physician Chair



Opioid Consortium Welcomes Dr. Joan PappThe Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium welcomes a new leader effective Jan. 1, 2022, as Joan Papp, MD, FACEP, steps into the role of physician chair. Dr. Papp, director of The MetroHealth System’s Office of Opioid Safety and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, will serve in the role for two years, continuing the work of David Streem, MD, chief of psychiatry and medical director of the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center at Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital, who served in 2020 and 2021 as the Opioid Consortium’s second physician chair.


The Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium is a physician-led, member-driven partnership of hospitals working collaboratively to address the region’s opioid epidemic. Housed at The Center for Health Affairs, the Opioid Consortium includes Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, University Hospitals, the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System and The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio. Together, these organizations work to mitigate the opioid crisis through a coordinated action plan, which includes reforms to prescription guidelines, use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT), expanded distribution and use of naloxone and health professional education.

The Center thanks Dr. Streem for his compassionate and dedicated leadership. During his tenure, the Opioid Consortium set forth on a new two-year strategic plan and made substantial progress on its strategic initiatives, including developing and refining online opioid education programming; successfully obtaining federal grant funding, in conjunction with community partners, to support further work in health professionals education; and launching the Overdose Data to Action Opioid Management Toolkit, created in collaboration with MetroHealth’s Office of Opioid Safety and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, to educate and help providers be the first line of defense in reducing opioid use disorder through prescribing changes.

The Center also extends its gratitude to Dr. Papp, who has previous involvement in the Opioid Consortium as a member of the Executive Committee, for devoting her time, energy and expertise to the physician’s chair seat. Under her leadership, the Opioid Consortium will continue making strides with objectives related to education, naloxone access, public policy and other key initiatives.

“I’m pleased to be serving as physician chair of the Opioid Consortium,” said Dr. Papp. “I extend my thanks to Dr. Streem for his tenure as outgoing physician chair. I look forward to continuing this work, leading the initiative and collaborating with my colleagues within the health systems in Northeast Ohio as we develop and implement critical programming aimed at saving lives and stemming the opioid crisis in our region.”

About The Center for Health Affairs
As the nation’s first regional hospital association, The Center for Health Affairs serves as the collective voice and leading advocate for 36 hospitals across nine counties in Northeast Ohio. With a dedicated and consistent history dating back over 100 years, The Center aims to enhance the effectiveness of the healthcare community and the health of the communities it serves by providing expertise, resources and solutions to address the challenges currently being faced by the region’s healthcare providers. The Center’s efforts focus on areas in which member hospitals and their communities can benefit from a regional approach, including emergency preparedness; public policy and advocacy; finance and reimbursement; and community health. Through its business affiliates, CHAMPS Group Purchasing and The Essentials Group, The Center provides a broad level of professional services to its members. Headquartered in downtown Cleveland, The Center is honored to be named as one of The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Top Workplaces in 2014, 2015 and 2021; ERC’s NorthCoast99 List in 2003, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017; Crain’s Cleveland Business and Best Companies Group’s Best Employers in Ohio in 2020 and 2021; and Modern Healthcare’s 2021 Best Places to Work in Healthcare. 

For more on the Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium, contact us.

TWEETABLE: The Northeast Ohio Hospital Opioid Consortium Welcomes MetroHealth’s Dr. Joan Papp as Physician Chair