-ATIN- 09/09/08- Voted by his peers as the leading pain specialist in the San Diego area, Dr. Joe Shurman will chair the newly revamped pain program at Casa Palmera, a 90-bed high-end private pay facility located in the tony enclave of Rancho Santa Fe in Southern California.

"We're creating the premier pain program in the nation here at Casa Palmera," Shurman told ATIN, adding that the program will be the leading alternative for people who wish to manage their pain while minimizing the use addictive drugs to alleviate their suffering.

Shurman, who played basketball for Temple University and is working on a book that tells the stories of how sports and other personalities have dealt with pain, is among the founders of the key "Share The Risk" program for doctors. Share The Risk, which was founded to respond to the enormous risk doctors take on when they prescribe opiates, gives physicians critical advice and referrals for treating pain. About 17 percent of pain docs are investigated every year, and every day a doc somewhere in the nation is arrested, according to Shurman.

"The hot issue became Oxycontin and the enormous abuse that flowed from that," he said. "At Casa Palmera we'll be a beacon and an example of how to safely and highly effectively treat a wide range of pain problems."

Southern California medical industry entrepreneur Lee Johnson and his family founded Casa Palmera in one of the most substantial high-end addiction treatment buildouts in recent memory. This summer, Johnson brought in former Betty Ford exec Cherlyne Short Majors and former Bay Recovery CEO Phyllis Meagher to turbocharge management of the high-end facility.

Shurman also chairs pain at nearby Scripps Health, a San Diego health system that includes four acute care hospitals and extensive outpatient capability, with 2,600 associated physicians.

Newswire Staff

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