January 29, 2020, CHICAGO – The American Academy of Pain Medicine Program Committee is excited to announce that U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams, MD MPH, will deliver a keynote address about the importance of pain management in combating the opioid crisis during AAPM 2020, the 36th Annual Meeting of the Academy, on Friday, February 28, 9:15 am, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.

Dr. Adams is the 20th Surgeon General of the United States. His mission as the “Nation’s Doctor,” is to advance the health of the American people.

“Dr. Adams is an inspirational speaker with first-hand knowledge of the intersection of pain, opioid use, and addiction,” says Program Committee Co-Chair Steven P. Cohen, MD. “If there is one meeting you should attend in 2020, this is it!”

During his tenure as Surgeon General, Dr. Adams has created several initiatives to tackle our nation’s most pressing health issues, including the opioid epidemic. Dr. Adams issued the first Surgeon General’s Advisory in thirteen years, urging more Americas to carry naloxone, an FDA-approved medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Dr. Adams also released Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Spotlight on Opioids, and a digital postcard calling for a cultural shift in the way Americans think about, talk about, and respond to the opioid crisis. His Surgeon General’s postcard recommends actions that can prevent and treat opioid misuse, and promote recovery.

Dr. Adams joins a slate of renowned AAPM 2020 speakers that includes Eric Schoomaker, MD PhD, the 43rd U.S. Army Surgeon General; Brian Hainline, MD, Chief Medical Officer for the NCAA; Francis J. Keefe, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of PAIN; James C. Eisenach, MD, immediate past Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesiology; Mark E. Epstein, DVM CVPP, Chairperson of the Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats; and many others. For full details about this meeting, including instructions on how to register, visit annualmeeting.painmed.org.

Members of the press interested in attending the meeting should contact Megan Drumm, AAPM Director of Marketing & Communications, at mdrumm@painmed.org.