New Jersey continues to be a national leader when it comes to opioid addiction – both in the scope of the impact on the state, and in the public and private response to the disease. More than 1,600 state residents died of opioid related issues in 2016.

Former Gov. Chris Christie brought significant attention to the disease and Gov. Phil Murphy has fine-tuned the response, with new investments to support data collection, community based treatment providers, and addressing the underlying causes of addiction. But the opioid-related deaths continue to climb, in part because of powerful new drug cocktails, and as many as 3,000 Garden State residents are expected to be killed by these drugs this year.

In Part 2 of our 3-event series, we’ll explore the challenges involved with opioid addiction treatment, hearing from clinical leaders, community-based providers, and the state official who oversees many of these programs.

Keynote: “Federal Response to the Opioid Epidemic”

Dr. Anthony C. Ferreri, Regional Director, United States Department of Health & Human Services

Panelists:

Dr. Kaitlan Baston, Medical Director, Addiction Medicine, Cooper University Health Care

Frank L. Greenagel II, Adjunct Professor, Rutgers School of Social Work; Instructor, Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies; NJ Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse

Carole Johnson, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Human Services

Dr. Dheeraj Raina, Medical Director, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) program, Anthem, Inc.; Fellow, American Psychiatric Association (APA)

Dr. Erin Zerbo, Vice President, New Jersey Psychiatric Association; Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; Associate Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry.

Moderator

Lilo H. Stainton, Healthcare Reporter, NJ Spotlight