Joe Merrill Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
11/04/2019
Dr. Joseph Merrill, associate professor in General Internal Medicine at the UW, received a lifetime achievement award from the Washington State Health Care Authority’s Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery. The award was presented at the state’s Co-Occurring Disorders Conference in Yakima in October 2019.
Dr. Merrill was the driving force behind the initial three-year, $3 million, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association (SAMHA) Medication Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction grant awarded to the Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery in 2015.
The best practices implemented and outcomes produced by Dr. Merrill and his team working with patients throughout that grant are credited with subsequent awards of tens of millions of dollars in new federal funds for opioid prevention and treatment services awarded to the Washington State Health Care Authority.
Dr. Merrill also directs the new UW Addiction Medicine Fellowship, which has recently received ACGME accreditation.
