GAINESVILLE - Hoping to hit the national crisis of opioid addiction head-on, Partnership for Drug Free Hall is hosting the "Not My Family" forum next Tuesday, Sept. 26, the first in a series of three forums on the topic.
Deb Bailey of Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), one of several entities involved in the partnership, said one person dies from the addiction in the US every 16 minutes.
"That is a Vietnam War every year." Bailey said. "So we want to help people understand the crisis."
She added that right here at home the numbers of ODs is staggering, just at NGHS.
"In 2015, we had 281 overdoses in our two emergency rooms," Bailey said. "In 2016 we had 696."
She said it is looking even worse for 2017.
"Now, we are averaging 63 a month, and if that stays on schedule, that will be 756 overdoses between the Gainesville and Braselton campuses."
The forum will together experts and sufferers from the addiction to help families better understand the crisis and how to address it in their homes.
The "Not My Family" forum is Tuesday evening at 6:30 at Brenau Downtown Center. The event is open to the public.
In addition to NGHS, forum partners include Center Point, AEON Global Health, The Agora House for Men, Gainesville Police Department, Hall County Sheriff’s Department, Grace Episcopal Church, University of North Georgia, Twin Lakes Recovery Center, Gainesville and Hall County School Systems, Hall County Family Connection, Brenau University, Freedom Driving School and faceitpeople.org.
Bailey made her comments this week on WDUN's Afternoon News Wrap.
