Commissioner Larry Johnson to Host Opioid Symposium

DECATUR, Ga.—DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson, in partnership with Aetna, National Association of Counties, Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority and Morehouse School of Medicine, will host an Opioid Symposium on Thursday, May 4, 2017.

The event will be held at Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center, 3181 Rainbow Dr., Decatur. Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. and the program begins at 9 a.m. Registration is open online at http://bit.do/stop-opioids.

The symposium will bring together policymakers, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to discuss challenges faced and strategies on how to approach the opioid epidemic.

Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week is an initiative by former President Barack Obama, who is urged Congress to allocate $1.1 billion for treatment to counteract this epidemic.

According to a “Politics of Pain: A Decade of Opioid Lobbying,” joint investigation by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity:

• In 2015, approximately 227 million opioid prescriptions were issued in the U.S. while opioid sales were $9.6 billion.
• Approximately 356,000 Americans died due to drug overdoses between 2006 and 2014. Most of these were connected to prescription painkillers and heroin.

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About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 46.3 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com and learn about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews