Dayton, OH—Today, Congressman Mike Turner partnered with the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA) to host a community forum on the effects of the heroin epidemic on newborns.
The forum brought together community leaders for a multi-faceted discussion on ways we can work together to prevent babies being born exposed to opiates and to develop a community response to treat the entire at-risk-population.
Dayton region hospitals are reporting that 100 babies will be born in their hospitals exposed to heroin this year.
“We have a clear community call to action.
Today, we heard in detail about the increasing enormity of the effects of the heroin epidemic on newborns and what is at stake if we fail to act.
Now, we must aggregate and cohesively deploy all of the necessary resources to ensure that our community response is collaborative, focused, measurable and strategic.
These are our community’s children and we must do everything we can to protect them,” said Congressman Turner.
Speakers at today’s forum included:
Phil Plummer, Montgomery County Sheriff
Michelle Cox, Women’s Recovery Center
Lisa Jasin, Dayton Children’s Hospital
Terry Burns, Soin Medical Center/Greene Memorial Hospital
Bryan Bucklew, Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association
Following the meeting, Congressman Turner sent the following letter to all the speakers thanking them for their ongoing efforts to counter infant addiction and for their willingness to speak out and work towards a community wide solution.
To:
Phil Plummer, Montgomery County Sheriff
Michelle Cox, Women’s Recovery Center
Lisa Jasin, Dayton Children’s Hospital
Terry Burns, Soin Medical Center/Greene Memorial Hospital
Bryan Bucklew, Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association
From: Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10)
Date: June 30, 2014
Re: Dayton Community Forum on Heroin Exposed Newborns
I want to thank each of you for your leadership and for your informative discourse at this morning’s Community Forum on Heroin Exposed Newborns.
Today’s meeting built on our initial discussion in March on the impact of the heroin epidemic on newborns. At that meeting we underscored the importance of identifying a community-wide goal and developing a partnership to treat the entire at-risk-population and help prevent infant addiction.
Following this morning’s forum, we have a clear community call to action.
Today, because of your willingness to take action and speak about your experiences, we were able to take a careful look at the multifaceted challenges and take a significant step forward in developing a fully integrated strategy.
I look forward to working in close partnership with all of you to aggregate and take inventory of the resources we currently have and find specific ways we can use those resources to identify the at-risk-population, properly intervene, and provide the necessary treatment and ongoing support for both mothers and babies.
Our community is grateful for your direction and persistence.
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