Maine SUD Learning Community Newsletter | | |
Kristina Beladi, FNP, started in 2017 as a community health primary care provider with a significant MOUD population, then transitioned to inpatient substance use treatment and outpatient private practice primary care. In 2023, she left primary care and began doing solely substance use treatment. She is currently the Medical Director at Avalon Counseling Services in Lewiston, where she provides outpatient substance use and mental health treatment in a collaborative treatment model with therapists. She continues to work at Liberty Bay Recovery Center, providing medical care for a continuum of withdrawal management, residential, PHP, and IOP
Hear from Kristina Beladi, FNP, about her experiences with XR buprenorphine and navigating pharmacy administration.
| | SUD Learning Community Journal Club | | |
Dear Colleagues,
I have recently enjoyed working with addiction medicine fellows at Maine Medical Center. A patient was referred to our office with cirrhosis due to alcohol use disorder to maybe start naltrexone (NTX). The fellow was nonplussed; why wouldn’t we start it? And there I was: Crusty. I had seen some folks with cirrhosis prescribed NTX, but the last advice I’d received from a hepatologist, maybe 5 years ago, was a pretty strong message to avoid its use in patients with cirrhosis: compensated or decompensated. I myself had not made that prescribing decision. But as a 2025 paper (Shenoy et al) suggests, practice is changing. More people are receiving meds for AUD, including NTX, in the setting of cirrhosis. I needed to get up to speed to understand if this is something to emulate or something to watch out for. (Spoiler: mostly emulate).
Read on for more about why. You’ll find background, a link to a nice (and short) video with clinical recommendations, and a study review to gain insight into the greyest area on this question- decompensated cirrhosis.
I hope that if this is not enlightening, and that something else both fresh and liberating comes your way soon!
Andrea
Andrea Truncali, MD, MPH
| | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | | | |
Will we see ME SUD LC at any upcoming conferences? | | | | |
Yes! Stop by our exhibit table at the Maine Primary Care Association Conference at the Samoset Resort, October 22–23. We’ll also be at the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians Conference at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport, October 23–24, and the MaineCare Delivery Reform Forums in Brewer and Portland Regional, November 12 and 18.
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Will the CCSME be continuing with ME SUD LC? | | | | We’re excited to share that CCSME has been awarded the Maine SUD Learning Collaborative through December 30, 2030, pending finalization of the contract. This award is a testament to the collective efforts of our partners and the dedication of the exceptional staff leading this initiative. Together—with all of you—we continue to strengthen Maine’s behavioral health system, save lives, and advance evidence-basedapproaches to substance use disorders treatment and recovery. If you would be interested in sharing what sorts of training opportunities you would like in the future please complete this survey. | | | |
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October 23, 2025 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Speaker: C. Michael White, Pharm.D., FCP, FCCP, FASHP
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How Shark Tank’s Biggest Product is Changing Lives On and Off the Table
Tom Filippini has always loved paddle sports. Growing up in Chicago, he spent hours playing ping pong with family and friends. During college, his love for the game turned into long beer pong matches. But eventually, drinking became a bigger part of his life, leading to struggles with alcohol as an adult.
Read More
| | | | Expanding the Conversation | | | |
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This series highlights the lived experiences of individuals in recovery to inform clinical best practices in treating Substance Use and Opioid Use Disorders (SUD/OUD). These are not simple “success stories,” but honest accounts of what helped—and what didn’t—during treatment. By centering the voices of those seeking care, we aim to support clinicians and their teams in delivering more compassionate, evidence-based treatment and reducing overdose deaths.
View full series here.
| | Online Self Paced Courses | | |
Pressed for time?
Enroll in one of our convenient online self-paced courses today!
| | Learn the principles and ways to apply them to welcome people into your practice. | | Please visit the ME SUD Learning Community website for upcoming Events and Resources. | | | | | |
