National Public Health Week at UC to Focus on Opioid Crisis

National Public Health Week 2018 is April 2 – 6, with a focus on engaging all communities and sectors about the role each of us can play in putting good health standards within everyone’s reach. At the University of Cincinnati (UC), the Master of Public Health program and its Gamma Rho student chapter of the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society is offering a week of activities about "Addressing the Opioid Epidemic.” 

Keynote speaker for Wednesday’s event will be Tom Synan, chief of police for Newtown, Ohio, and a leading regional and national advocate in the fight against the opioid crisis. Synan is a 24-year police veteran with the Newtown Police Department, serving the last 10 years as police chief and as a SWAT Team Leader. He was a founding member of the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition and has provided testimony to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee about deadly synthetic opiates. Synan will provide insight into the complexity of this issue. 

Following Synan’s keynote will be a panel discussion featuring researchers, clinicians and health professionals. Other activities for the week are listed below.  

Schedule of Events for National Public Health Week 2018: "Addressing the Opioid Epidemic”

Monday, April 2: 

Health and MPH information booth with free breakfast. 

9 a.m.–noon, Kettering Lab Lobby 

Tuesday, April 3:

Volunteer event with The Exchange, a harm reduction program of the Hamilton County Public  Health Department. If interested in participating, RSVP to deltaomega.gammarho@gmail.com  by March 30.

Timeslots available between 11 a.m.– 2 p.m. Located at 184 E. McMillan St., use Hamilton County Public Health entrance.

Wednesday, April 4: Keynote and Panel discussion (301 Kowalewski)

10 a.m. Keynote by Tom Synan, Newtown Police Chief and a founding member of the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition.

11 a.m. Panel Discussion featuring:

Jennifer Brown, PhD, associate professor, UC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Addiction Sciences Division.  

Tim Ingram, Hamilton County Health Commissioner, and adjunct instructor, Public Health.

Michael Lyons, MD, MPH, associate professor of Emergency Medicine, and a UC Health physician.

Jennifer Mooney, PhD, Cincinnati Health Department and affiliate professor, UC Department of Sociology.

Shawn Ryan, MD, president and chief medical officer of BrightView. 

Program will beheald in 301 Kowalewski, followed by lunch at Kettering Lab Complex atrium will follow the panel discussion, around noon. Hosted by the MPH program.  For those who cannot attend, a live

WebEx feed,

 (Event number: 649 137 008 Event password: MPH2018) is available, and will also be posted after the event at

http://med.uc.edu/eh/divisions/publichealth

.