NEW YORK (WABC) -- WABC-TV and WPVI-TV partnered with RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery and the state of New Jersey to host a town hall addressing one of the worst drug crisis in American history: Opioid abuse and addiction.
Eyewitness News anchor Liz Cho, ABC News Chief Medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton and Rick Williams from our sister station WPVI-TV moderated the discussion with a panel of experts sharing key information and resources.
[Ads /]
The town hall took place at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ.
The national death toll from drug overdoses has now reached record highs, making the
opioid crisis a public health emergency. Each day, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids,
according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The misuse of and addiction to opioids -- including prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl -- is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare.
TOWN HALL HOSTS AND GUESTSLiz Cho, co-anchor of WABC-TV's Eyewitness News First at 4pm and Eyewitness News at 6pm.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent & Health Editor.
Rick Williams, anchor of 6abc's Action News at Noon and 5pm.
Town Hall Panel Members: Judith M. Persichilli, R.N., B.S.N., M.A: NJ Acting Health Commissioner, and former Acting CEO of University Hospital in Newark. Ms. Persichilli also served as president emerita of CHE Trinity Health and as interim president and CEO of CHE Trinity Health. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Persichilli was President and CEO of Catholic Health East and also served as CEO of St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton.
Carole Johnson, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services in Governor Phil Murphy's Administration. Commissioner Johnson previously served in the Obama White House as senior health policy advisor and member of the Domestic Policy Council health team.
John Armato: New Jersey Assemblyman representing the 2nd Legislative District in Atlantic County.
Assemblyman Armato is a primary sponsor of the bill signed into law by the governor permanently designating October 6th as "Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day" in New Jersey.
Reverend Darrell Armstrong: Pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, New Jersey. He has presided over the funerals of too many people who have overdosed. As a child, he lived in foster care with his brother because his mother was addicted to drugs.
Angela Cicchino: A Peer Recovery Program Supervisor, a person in long-term recovery, and most recently a new mom.
Angela has been serving the community through RWJ Barnabas Health's Peer Recovery Program since the launch in 2016. She has been in recovery for over eight years and knows what it is like to have substance use disorder change her life.
Dr. Christopher Freer: Regional Medical Director of Emergency Services at RWJBarnabas Health; co-chair of the RWJBarnabas Health Tackling Addiction Task Force. Dr. Freer has been instrumental in implementing a paradigm shift for a more effective approach in identifying and treating addicted individuals.
Christina Fagan: Executive Director, "A Change for Nick". After losing her son Nicholas in May of 2013 to a heroin overdose, the sixth youth in their small community to succumb to this horrific disease, Christina along with family members and friends started a 501c3 non-profit called "A Change for Nick". ACFN provides support, removes barriers and is continually working to disarm the stigma associated with the disease of addiction, for those still struggling, those in recovery and their family members.
Dr. Petros Levounis: Professor, physician, and chair of the department of psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Dr. Levounis has published thirteen books on addiction topics, including the self-help paperback "Sober Siblings: How to Help Your Alcoholic Brother or Sister-and Not Lose Yourself" and the textbook of "Substance Dependence and Co-Occurring Psychiatric Disorders."
Fred Muench, Ph.D.: Fred Muench, Ph.D. is the President of Center on Addiction, and formerly was President and CEO of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. He is a clinical psychologist who specializes in developing remote coaching and digital interventions to help individuals and families prevent and intervene with problem substance use. Before joining Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, Fred focused on developing, researching and managing technology based addiction applications for private, nonprofit and academic sectors. He has worked in the addiction field for more than 20 years as a clinician and implementation scientist pushing the boundaries of bringing addiction treatment directly to individuals and families.
Keith Murphy: Recovery Counselor with Rutgers Recovery Housing. In his present role, he helps the students in the College Recovery Program develop skills for recovery and life in college and beyond. As a member of the Rutgers counseling staff, Keith has the privilege of seeing students flourish and become world-changers.
Dr. Erin Zerbo: Assistant Professor in the department of psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the associate director of medical student education in psychiatry. In addition to managing a large buprenorphine practice dedicated to underserved Newark residents, she is also the director of the state-designated Northern New Jersey Center of Excellence in Medication-Assisted Treatment, a new statewide training and education initiative.
THE OPIOID CRISIS: Stories to watch and shareEva's Village: Bringing hope to New Jersey amidst the ongoing opioid crisisRecovering from opioid addiction involves a team effortNew Jersey woman, who once panhandled to buy heroin, turns life around after battle with opioid addictionNew Jersey hospital leads the fight against the opioid epidemic through alternative programWEB ADDRESSES & PHONE NUMBERS RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and RecoveryThe Compassionate Friends
Supporting Family after a Child Dies
CompassionateFriends.org877-969-0010
Camden County NJ, Office of Mental Health & Addiction
CamdenCounty.com/service/health-human-services/alcohol-substance-abuse/844-276-2777 - Addictions Hotline of New Jersey
856-374-6361 -For County funding and resources
Prevent Opioid Abuse
PreventOpioidAbuse.org973-316-6433
The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey
(Includes New Jersey Shout Down Drugs)
DrugFreeNJ.org973-467-2100
American Medicine Chest Challenge - New Jersey
AmericanMedicineChest.com877-919-2622
State by State Guidelines on Opioid Prescribing
AffirmHealth.com/blog/opioid-prescribing-guidelines-a-state-by-state-overview Zoe Kellner's story
ZOE-story.com NewYork-Presbyterian
https://www.nyp.org/psychiatry/services/substance-and-alcohol-use877-NYP-WELL
888-694-5700
NewYork-Presbyterian Health Matters
https://nyphosp.co/2rHsOS7[Ads /]
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Treatment Referral Routing Service
SAMHSA.gov 800-662-HELP (4357) National 24/7 Helpline
Mental Health America
For Resources & Expert Advice
MentalHealthAmerica.net/go/help800-969-6642
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
24 Hour Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
SuicidePreventionLifeline.orgAmerican Foundation for Suicide Prevention
AFSP.org888-333-AFSP (2377)
1-800-273-TALK (8255) Hotline
NYS Department Of Health Opioid Overdose Initiative
Health.NY.Gov/overdose800-692-8528
OASAS HOPEline
OASAS.NY.gov877-846-7369
Safe Horizon
SafeHorizon.org800-621-HOPE (4673) 24 Hour Hotline
www.Instagram.Com/Safehorizon
www.Twitter.Com/Safehorizonwww.Facebook.Com/SafehorizonNational Center For Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
MissingKids.com800-THE LOST (843-5678)
Facebook.Com/MissingkidsTwitter.Com/Missingkids[Ads /]
****
----------
*
More Manhattan news*
Send us a news tip*
Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts