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PARTNERS | HEALTHY CITY | HOW HEALTHY | VISION | SUMMIT | PRIORITIES | FUNCTIONS | CITY OF FALL RIVER |
About 75 people from across
various sectors gathered at the Fort
Taber Community Center on March 10, 2016 to formulate a response to
the opioid abuse problem across the South Coast. Organized by New
Bedford Public Health Director Brenda Weis, the summit brought
representatives of families, law enforcement, the courts, schools, the
clergy and a broad spectrum of treatment providers for the four-hour
forum. "We're here today for a regional summit to talk about the
opioid crisis in our region and what solutions we can come up with as a
region to prevent the crisis," stated Dr. Weis. Opening speakers
included New Bedford Mayor
Jon Mitchell, Congressman William
Keating, Representative
Robert Koczera, and UMass-Dartmouth
Acting Chancellor Gerry Kavanaugh. Fall River, which was one of a dozen
communities represented at the forum, has seen a steady
rise in overdose deaths over the past several years, with numbers
moving from 16 in 2013 to 44 in 2014 and 36 in 2015. Click
here for a ten-minute ![]() |
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(Top row, left) William Burns of Southcoast Health and Hugh Dunn of the SouthCoast Development Partnership chat with UMass-Dartmouth Acting Chancellor Gerry Kavanaugh during a break. (Top row, center) Elizabeth Leatham of New Bedford Allied for Health and Wellness, center, makes a point during a group discussion as Kerry Mello of Southcoast Health leads another group. (Middle row) New Bedford Public Health Director Brenda Weis and Senior Substance Abuse Program Manager Paul Dhuly comment on the event during a ten-minute video interview. (Bottom row) Luz Ortega, left, of the New Bedford Health Department talks with Dr. Weis as Marybeth Shoening records information from Fall River School Nurse Karen Long, New Bedford School Nurse Karen Regan, and Administrative Director of Community Health Benefits for Saint Anne's Hospital Tracy Ibbotson. |
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