KANSAS CITY, MO – The opioid epidemic is decimating families and communities throughout America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people in the United States died from drug overdoses in 2014 than in any previously recorded year, and 61 percent of all overdose deaths involved opioids. In August, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent a letter to the American medical community noting that, “Everywhere I travel, I see communities devastated by opioid overdoses.”

During a media press call on Tuesday, September 27, at 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT/12:00 p.m. MT/11:00 p.m. PT, a panel of elected and appointed local government leaders will join with health and addiction experts to discuss local governments’ role in fostering effective responses to the ongoing opioid crisis. The call will be hosted by ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, in conjunction with the organization’s 102nd annual conference, September 25-28 in Kansas City, Missouri.

WHAT:      Press Call: “How Local Communities Can Confront the Opioid Epidemic”

WHO:       

• Ron Carlee, visiting assistant professor, Strome College of Business, Old Dominion University, Va.; former city manager, Charlotte, North Carolina (moderator);
• Marty Harding,director of training and consultation, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
• Lee Feldman, city manager, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; ICMA 2016-17 President; and representative to the City-County National Task Force on the Opioid Epidemic;
• Chris Louras, mayor, Rutland, Vermont; and
• Marie Peoples, Ph.D., director, Public Health Services Office, Coconino County, Arizona.

WHEN:     Tuesday, September 27, at 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT/12:00 p.m. MT/11:00 p.m. PT

HOW:        Dial: 1-888-632-3384; Passcode: “ICMA”

In addition to sharing reflections on how the opioid crisis is affecting communities, the local officials and experts on the press call will highlight emerging best practices in confronting this epidemic, as recommended by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, including: 

• Creating community coalitions to work across sectors to focus on the opioid crisis;
• Developing ordinances and places for safe drug disposal;
• Establishing drug diversion task forces, dedicated to sharing information and investigations to combat prescription fraud and illegal trafficking of prescription painkillers;
• Providing training for first responders in the use of naloxone (Narcan) for reducing opioid overdoses;
• Improving access to medication-assisted treatment;
• Using drug courts to fight opioid addiction and trafficking;
• Creating referral programs through law enforcement agencies;
• Disseminating information about state laws that encourage intervention;
• Building awareness about states’ prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP); and 
• Hosting community mobilization events to put tools into the hands of every community sector.

For more information on how local governments can confront the opioid epidemic, read this backgrounder, The High Cost of Opioid Abuse in Your Community, authored by Marty Harding, director of training and consultation at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, which recently ran in ICMA’s Leadership Matters e-newsletter.

The speakers on Tuesday’s press call are just a few of the more than 3,300 key decision makers and guests from local governments throughout the world who are gathered at ICMA’s 102nd annual conference, being held September 25-28 at the Kansas City (Missouri) Convention Center. For a detailed overview on the conference proceedings, please visit: http://icma.org/en/icma/events/conference/welcome

For more information about the press call or the ICMA conference, contact Michele Frisby at 202-962-3658 or mfrisby@icma.org.

About ICMA
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide. Our mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build livable communities that improve people’s lives. ICMA provides member support; publications; data and information; peer and results-oriented assistance; and training and professional development to more than 11,000 city, town, and county experts and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA's members affect millions of individuals living in thousands of communities, from small villages and towns to large metropolitan areas.