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| Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives speaking at the summit conference |
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Local organizations participate in national opioid summit ATLANTA — Vermonters from Bennington, Windham and Windsor counties attended the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit during the first week of April in downtown Atlanta, according to Bellows Falls-based Greater Falls Connections. Approximately 3,000 experts attended the conference, including representatives from prevention, treatment, recovery, and law enforcement. According to the organizers, it is the largest collaboration of federal, state and local professionals seeking to address prescription drug abuse, misuse and diversion. Some of the local organizations that attended included Turning Point Recovery Centers of Springfield and Windham County, Health Care and Rehabilitation Services of Southeastern Vermont (HCRS), Springfield Medical Care Systems (SMCS), Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Grace Cottage, Greater Falls Connections, Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition, West River Valley Thrives, Deerfield Valley Community Partnership, The Collaborative, Black River Area Community Coalition, Hartford Community Coalition, Brattleboro Retreat, HabitOpco, Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School, Brattleboro Police Department, and the Vermont Department of Health. “There were two things that stood out to me during the summit," Michael Johnson, director of Turning Point Recovery Center of Springfield, said. "Recovery is successful when a person stays connected. And, as a community, open collaborations and warm hand-offs will make our work more successful.” The U.S. Surgeon General, National Institutes of Health, Office of National Drug Control Policy and other federal agencies working on these issues delivered notable presentations, according to Greater Falls Connections. The featured speaker was Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States. Premier researchers from around the country provided the latest data and exciting new approaches to opioid prevention and recovery. During the conference, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, issued an official advisory emphasizing the importance of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. It was first Surgeon General’s advisory in 13 years. The advisory urges more individuals, including family members and friends of those at risk for opioid overdose, to know how to use naloxone and keep it within reach in order to save lives. The surgeon general declares, “increasing the availability … of naloxone is a critical component of our efforts to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths and, when combined with the availability of effective treatment, to ending the opioid epidemic.” The summit was unique in that doctors, police officers, pharmacists and community leaders were attending the same workshops and working together to identify gaps and create solutions together. Participants came back more committed to continuing the work in our communities to tackle this issue from many perspectives. Participants were exposed to inspiring models from across the country that are making a big difference in response to the opioid and heroin epidemic. “It is always helpful to meet people from around the country who are working on creative solutions to this issue," said Robin Rieske, prevention consultant for the Vermont Department of Health. "It is clear that Vermont is actually doing some things right about this crisis, and there is always more we can do." The local attendees received funding through a Vermont Department of Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs grant and the Drug Free Communities Support Program grant to attend the conference. Through their experiences, the participants are ready to assist in reducing stigma, incorporating recovery into treatment programs, sharing the latest data trends, supporting peer-based programs and creating community-wide involvement.
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