Groups Come Together, Offer Insight on Opioid Fight

The group West Virginians for Affordable Health Care hosted a conference Tuesday at Marshall University focused on the state’s opioid epidemic.

The conference titled “Innovative Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic,” brought together groups from all over the state as well as national experts to discuss ways of dealing with the epidemic. Groups like the Cabell-Huntington Health Department presented their needle exchange effort and Martinsburg Police presented their Martinsburg Initiative. Dr. Anita Everett is the Chief Medical Officer for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and she was the featured speaker. Everett said it’s great to a see a state of communities trying new things and wanting to work together.

“It’s very clear that the leaders of the community here felt like there back was to the wall and they had to do something different and what was happening was not working and that was very clear and in a community that’s somewhat smaller it’s able to be nimbler,” Everett said.

Everett said the collaboration in the state could be a model for communities around the country to follow. 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.