Chronic Pain Alleviation Focus of Napa Pain Conference.

NAPA, Calif. -- Pain management specialists from around the country will gather at the 14th Napa Pain Conference on October 5-7 to learn advanced techniques for helping patients who live with chronic pain. Sponsored by Eric Grigsby, MD, founder and medical director of SpectrumCare Pain Treatment Center in Napa, California, the conference will examine recent developments in chronic pain care as well as coach professionals in developing their own practices.

Participants, including physicians, physician assistants, and allied healthcare professionals, will receive training in chronic pain management through lectures, workshops, and a hands-on intraspinal infusion lab. These sessions will cover intraspinal techniques in pain diagnosis and treatment; treating pain caused by cancer, terminal illness, and neuropathic injury; the effect of opioid therapy on the endocrine system; and treating chronic pain in the elderly.

A business management seminar to coach healthcare professionals in developing the business side of their practices will complement the clinical emphasis of the conference. Led by Michelle Byers of MB Business Consulting and Dr. Grigsby, the seminar will examine business and management strategies for private healthcare practices.

Other conference faculty members include:

* Lisa Jo Stearns, MD, Director of Valley Cancer Pain

* David Caraway, MD, PhD, Director of the Center for Pain Relief, Tri-State

* Michael Stanton-Hicks, MD, Vice-Chairman, Division of Anesthesiology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

* Peter Linfoot, MD, PhD, FACP, Director of the Diabetes and Endocrine Institute

* Paul Smith, ESQ, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP 

The Napa Pain Conference will be held at the Villagio Inn and Spa in Yountville, California. All proceeds will benefit the Margaret Dunn Grigsby Foundation, a Grigsby family foundation that supports numerous health related non-profit organizations in the U.S. and Africa.

Chronic Pain Alleviation

Dr. Grigsby began the national Napa Pain Conference in 1990 to educate colleagues about advances in chronic pain management. He is the founder and medical director of SpectrumCare, Inc., a comprehensive pain management clinic in the Napa Valley. Dr. Grigsby also founded the Napa Surgery Center, Diablo Valley Surgery Center's pain management program, and Napa Medical Resources, Inc. He has worked as the medical director of the University Pain Service at the University of California, Davis, and as faculty and staff in the anesthesiology department at the Mayo Health Clinic.