Coming up next month at Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac will be the 2025 Southwest Michigan Opioid Summit, organized by a coalition of health groups from around the region.
E.J. McAndrew is a substance abuse prevention supervisor at Woodlands Behavioral Healthcare Network in Cassopolis and tells us the last summit was in 2019. Since then, police, healthcare providers, and counsellors have seen new trends in opioid use, and it’s time for them to get back together.
“We’re hoping to bring our colleagues up to speed on what is currently going on and what’s trending,” McAndrew said. “We’re also hoping to address some of the stigmas that go along with opioid addiction and opioid use.”
McAndrew says the opioid epidemic started with prescription painkillers that were legitimately approved by doctors and then overused. Later, doctors began restricting such prescriptions and opioids became more of a street drug. She says it remains the duty of healthcare providers to help patients understand what they’re taking.
“We try to help people understand that the pain meds that they’re being prescribed are, they have dangerous properties to them if they’re misused.”
At the summit, public health leaders will talk about the latest research, hear from addiction specialists, talk about reducing the stigma, and explore the role law enforcement can play in combatting opioid abuse. McAndrew says guests will hear from both national and local speakers about the latest in opioid research and policy so they can better serve their own communities.
The one-day summit will be on September 25 and is open to everyone. You can learn more right here.
