Next Round of Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Halls to Kick off with Summit on Government Response to Opioid Epidemic

3/22/2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2019
 
Contact: Mary Vassoler                                        Matt Birchenough
Media Coordinator                                                Director of Special Events
973.382.4560 (mobile)                                            201.916.1032 (mobile)
mary@drugfreenj.org (e-mail)                                matt@drugfreenj.org (e-mail)

 

Next Round of Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Halls to Kick off with Summit on Government Response to Opioid Epidemic

NEWARK — After conducting more than two dozen town halls statewide to better understand the scope and impact of New Jersey’s opioid epidemic, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) will kick off a new round of town halls, with a fresh focus on customizing solutions to individual communities and leveraging local resources to combat the problem. A special summit later this month will precede a series of 21 new town halls and will feature experts, leaders and policymakers across the spectrum discussing the responses to the crisis at the federal and state level, and their impact on New Jersey communities at the local level.

The Knock Out Opioid Abuse Summit on the State and Federal Response to the Opioid Epidemic will be held from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, at The Newark Museum, 49 Washington St., Newark, NJ 07102. Doors will open at 9 a.m. for networking and a light breakfast.

In joint collaboration with Horizon BCBSNJ’s philanthropic arm, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, the Partnership for A Drug-Free New Jersey and Horizon are embarking on a new two-year Knock Out Opioid Abuse initiative to address the opioid epidemic through community outreach, prescriber education, parent education and a statewide awareness campaign.  The campaign will include a new micro-website that will be an informational and interactive hub on opioids, transit and outdoor advertising, and social media communications.

“The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is excited once again to partner with The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey to educate New Jersey residents about the opioid epidemic, while also learning how the crisis is affecting different communities throughout the state,” PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente said. “The Knock Out Opioid Abuse Summit on the State and Federal Response to the Opioid Epidemic will be an appropriate way to kick off the program by examining the issue statewide and around the nation before viewing it closer at the local level throughout New Jersey.”

Speakers at the series launch event will include:

  • Rita Noonan, PhD, Deputy Director for Non-Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Dr. Anthony Ferreri, Regional Director, Region II of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
  • Susan Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration – New Jersey Division
  • Anne Hazlett, Senior Adviser for Rural Affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
  • Sharon Joyce, Director of NJ CARES (Coordinated Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies), New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
  • Suzanne Kunis, Director of Behavioral Health, Horizon BCBSNJ
  • Erica Liu, Chief, Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit Assistant U.S. Attorney at U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of New Jersey

“Horizon looks forward to continuing the statewide conversation on how to combat the larger opioid epidemic and applying what we learned from the first round of town halls to actionable steps that connect people to localized services and solutions,” said Jonathan R. Pearson, Executive Director of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey.   Pearson noted that at each town hall, resources will be available to attendees, such as naloxone training and information on safe Rx disposal. “In addition, town halls will be streamed live on a new website so that anyone can attend and experience the discussion.”

The revamped website, knockoutopioidabuse.drugfreenj.org, will launch March 27 and feature information on scheduled town halls, video from each event and a look into the lives of New Jersey residents who have been affected by the opioid epidemic. It will also include an online continuing medical education program for prescribers and information on parent education through the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s 5th Grade Parent Alert.

Knock Out Opioid Abuse will build on the progress of the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall Series, which was held for all 21 New Jersey counties in 2017 and 2018 and, like the next series, was also supported by a grant from The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey. The events educated the public and encouraged dialogue on the opioid crisis in a comprehensive manner that focused on several perspectives of the epidemic, including law enforcement, the medical community, government and the treatment, recovery and prevention fields.

In 2018, more than 3,000 people died of drug overdoses in New Jersey, an estimated two-thirds of which due to opioids, according to the state’s Office of the Attorney General. Nationwide, the total number of opioid overdose deaths reach 47,600 in 2017, and official figures for 2018 could exceed that total.

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Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey: Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication.  To date, more than $100 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 174 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.

 

About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey:

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state's oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, vision and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving more than 3.8 million members.

 

About The Horizon Foundation For New Jersey:
The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is committed to working alongside those who can help us improve our neighbors’ health, inform their health decisions and inspire them to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives. The Foundation’s funding pillars are Caring, Connecting and Creating. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is the sole member of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, both of which are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, please visit www.Horizonblue.com/Foundation

 

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