51社区 to host Community Symposium on Opioid Interventions on Oct. 4
51社区, as part of its continued effort to combat Ohio鈥檚 opioid epidemic by providing experts and resources, and by creating partnerships with local and state leaders, will host the Community Symposium on Opioid Interventions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 at the Margaret M. Walter Hall Rotunda on the Athens Campus.
The event is free and open to the public; is now available. Continuing Education credits will be available for nurses and social workers who choose to attend the symposium.
鈥淭his community symposium is designed to highlight ways in which collaboration is making a difference in Southeast Ohio鈥檚 fight against substance use disorder,鈥 said Tracy Plouck, the event鈥檚 organizer and a population health executive in residence for the 51社区 (CHSP). 鈥淧rogress on topics such as prevention, trauma informed care, clinical workforce expansion and recovery housing are occurring in our area of the state, and we want to share 鈥榟ow-to鈥 information with others. Ideally, the symposium will help share ideas between community leaders and serve as a catalyst for further progress.鈥
Topics included at the symposium are anticipated to include:
- Clinical workforce expansion
- Increasing employment opportunities for people in recovery
- Trauma-informed care approaches
revealed more than 1 million years of life were lost in Ohio from overdose deaths, including opioids, between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2018.
(The Alliance) 鈥 a collaborative initiative formed by CHSP, other higher education partners, health systems, insurers, policy groups and population health advocates.
鈥淚t鈥檚 staggering to realize that, in just 10 years, Ohio has lost more than a million years of life due to drug overdose deaths. Those are years we can never get back. Those are years that families will no longer have with their loved ones,鈥 said CHSP Dean Randy Leite. 鈥淭his symposium represents a collection of people who are passionate about finding solutions to the opioid epidemic so that Ohio鈥檚 communities may one day no longer suffer this level of tragedy.鈥
Next month鈥檚 symposium aligns with OHIO President M. Duane Nellis鈥 for building an engagement ecosystem to further the University鈥檚 role as a positive catalyst for quality of life changes in the region.
鈥淥pioids have had a tremendous impact on the community, and it鈥檚 incumbent upon us to do what we can to help with the healing process,鈥 President Nellis said. 鈥淭he Community Symposium on Opioid Interventions is a powerful next step to facilitate sharing of information that can make a positive difference in Southeast Ohio and the state.鈥
President Nellis has also led the creation of OHIO鈥檚 , which is composed of both community members and University faculty, staff and administrators from the Athens and Regional Campuses to help enable OHIO鈥檚 public and private partners to collectively elevate the impact of the region鈥檚 opioid-related initiatives.