Melinda Ramage Receives Prestigious Glaser Award

Melinda Ramage, MSN, FNP-BC, CARN-AP was awarded the Dr. Frederick B. Glaser Award on March 25 at the Addiction Medicine 2023 Conference held in Asheville, NC. The biennial award, given by the Governor’s Institute and the NC Chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), honors an addiction medicine specialist for achievement and meritorious service in the domains of substance use disorder treatment, education, research, and leadership.

Ramage’s career began as an inpatient psychiatry nurse in the U.S. Navy. After earning her degree as a family nurse practitioner, Ramage joined the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) OB/GYN department in Asheville in 2012. It was there that Melinda identified the need for comprehensive perinatal substance use care embedded within the OBGYN clinic with integrated behavioral health and care management support – and Project CARA was born. Project CARA (Care that Advocates for Respect, Resiliency, and Recovery for All) provides a judgement-free space where patients can access the medical, substance use, and additional support services they need, all under one roof. Since its inception in 2014, Project CARA has supported over 800 pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorders.

Ramage was one of four people nominated this year, all women, working with highly stigmatized populations. Dr. Laura Levin, medical director at an opioid treatment program in High Point, NC; Dr. Elisabeth Johnson, FNP, PhD with UNC Horizons; and, Dr. Hendree Jones, PhD, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the School of Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill and executive director of UNC Horizons.