Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Announces Move to Nashville in 2020
Nearly 4,000 stakeholders expected for first gathering in Music City
MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- HMP, a leading healthcare event and education company, today announced that the 9th annual Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit—the nation's largest meeting addressing the opioid epidemic—will take place for the first time in Nashville, Tennessee, April 13-16, 2020.
Founded in 2012, the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit is the largest annual gathering of professionals from "federal to family"— local, state, and federal agencies, public health officials, business executives, academia, treatment providers, advocates, law enforcement, and family members working to find solutions that address the prescription and illicit drug abuse and misuse epidemic. The Summit attracted a record 3,500 attendees in 2019.
Highlighting the 2019 conference were remarks by President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. President Trump was the Summit's second sitting president to deliver an address, following President Barack Obama in 2016, underscoring the gravity of the opioid crisis and the government's commitment to fighting it.
The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. There were 70,237 drug overdose deaths reported in the United Sates in 2017; a 9.6% increase from 2016. Promising new research suggests, however, that overdose trends may be starting to reverse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released preliminary 2018 data showing a decrease in opioid-related overdose deaths for the first time in nearly three decades.
"The opioid epidemic does not discriminate. It touches every community across our nation, directly or indirectly, and combatting it requires a holistic approach," said Nancy Hale, president and CEO, Operation UNITE, the educational advisor for Rx Summit. "When we started Operation UNITE 17 years ago, there were limited resources. The growth and development we've seen in programs across the nation is strongly supported by the annual Rx Summit. We are laser-focused on expanding access to treatment, resources, and education that will lead to prevention at the federal, state, regional, and local levels. Information delivered during the meeting will better equip communities to battle the opioid epidemic. We are on the right path!"
At the 2020 Summit, attendees can expect to hear the latest information on federal policy and legislation, as well as practical strategies and solutions to improve law enforcement, health, treatment, and education.
In addition to delivering critical education, Rx Summit also focuses on fostering a sense of progress and optimism among participants.
"The devastating effects of prescription drug and heroin addictions have been felt by families across our country for far too long," said Doug Edwards, director, HMP's Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network. "Attendees at last year's Summit were bolstered by a sense of hope. The Summit continues to focus on bringing the best minds together to discuss what's working in prevention, treatment, and law enforcement in order to restore hope and save lives. It is incredibly rewarding to know that we are playing a role by bringing so many groups together to find solutions."
To learn more about the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, visit rx-summit.com, and follow Rx Summit on Facebook and Twitter @RxSummit.
For media inquiries, contact Kelly McCurdy at [email protected].
About HMP
HMP is the force behind Healthcare Made Practical—and is a multichannel leader in healthcare events and education, with a mission to improve patient care. The company produces accredited medical education events and clinically relevant, evidence-based content for the global healthcare community across a range of therapeutic areas. Its brands include Consultant360, the year-round, award-winning platform relied upon by primary care providers and other specialists; Psych Congress, the largest independent mental health meeting in the U.S.; EMS World Expo, North America's largest EMT and paramedic event; and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the largest wound care meeting in the world. For more information, visit hmpglobal.com.
SOURCE Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit
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