Three years of the COVID-19 Pandemic: What we’ve learned, and how it can make us better at treating rural patients with SUD

Our speaker is Dr. Sarah Jacobs, MD, MEd, Oculofacial Reconstructive Surgeon with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Medical Science Writer for UVM CORA. This presentation explores lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic as they relate to rural populations with substance use disorder (SUD).

Learning objectives:

1. Describe some of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with SUD.

2. Discuss how the intersection of rurality and SUD may amplify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on certain populations.

3. Outline parallels between prior pandemics in history and COVID-19.

4. Describe previous vaccine efforts for other infectious diseases, and how those efforts can inform COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

5. Identify evidence-based methods for addressing vaccine hesitancy.

6. Describe how COVID-19 has changed the role of telehealth for SUD care.

Speaker

Sarah Jacobs, MD, MEd

Dr. Sarah Jacobs is an Oculofacial Reconstructive Surgeon with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and also the Science Writer for UVM CORA. She grew up in rural Arizona, and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Arizona. She attended Mayo Medical School, then completed Ophthalmology residency at Washington University (St. Louis, MO), followed by Oculoplastic surgery fellowship at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA).