FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2026

Contacts: Lisa Batitto, news@drugfreenj.org  

Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey Earns First-Place Honors for Healthy Aging Summit

MILLBURN, NJ — The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) earned first place in the Public Relations: Special Events category at the 58th NJ Ad Club Jersey Awards for its NJ Healthy Aging Summit on Opioid Safety & Alternatives.

Convened in partnership with the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) on September 26, 2025, at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, the summit brought together 400 older adults, caregivers, and healthcare and social service professionals to explore opioid safety, safe medication practices and alternatives for managing pain. Vertex Pharmaceuticals sponsored the summit’s breakfast.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 8,000 Americans age 65 and older died from drug overdoses in 2024. Although overdose death rates declined across all age groups that year, older adults experienced the smallest percentage decrease, underscoring the need for continued prevention education.

The event addressed the need for substance use prevention education among older adults, while also highlighting exercise, nutrition and mental health as essential aspects of healthy aging. Nationally recognized experts, including Dr. Holly Geyer, physician lead of the Mayo Clinic’s Opioid Stewardship Program, shared insights and practical resources to help participants make informed decisions about their health.

“This recognition reflects the power of partnerships to bring attention to an often-overlooked population in substance use prevention,” said Angelo M. Valente, executive director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey. “Working with DMHAS, with support from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, we brought together experts, caregivers and community members to share information older adults and their families can put into practice. Those connections help extend the reach of prevention education well beyond a single event.”

The summit was complemented by a statewide public awareness campaign featuring messages at bus shelters, on billboards, and across PATH and NJ Transit trains. Among attendees surveyed, 84 percent said they were more informed about opioid safety, and 93 percent planned to share what they learned with family, friends and their communities.

The NJ Ad Club Awards recognize achievements in advertising, marketing and public relations.

For more information about the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, visit www.drugfreenj.org

###

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 $200 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 233 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.