West Virginia Experts Discuss Collision of Opioid and COVID-19 Crises on Webinar Hosted by DisposeRx

SANFORD, NC – February 3, 2021 – DisposeRx – the product leader in at-home medication disposal solutions, continued its state webinar series on January 27, 2021, with a focus on West Virginia. 

In less than one year, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 West Virginians, but state health leaders believe that the pandemic has contributed to even more deaths due to overdose. According to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia has the highest number of overdose deaths per 100,000 people in the country during the last 12 months. 

West Virginia is not alone. Forty states have reported a spike in opioid overdoses since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Medical Association. Experts believe that this dramatic increase is due primarily to isolation, anxiety and depression that have been exacerbated due to COVID-19. 

Through its series, DisposeRx is bringing together leaders from healthcare, government and nonprofit organizations to discuss how their states are dealing with the pandemic and opioid epidemic. The following experts shared insights on what they believe is working to address the public health crises, as well as some of the gaps they are addressing:

  • Ed Kairis, MD, Chief Medical Officer, and Jason Landers, SVP of Medicaid, The Health Plan
  • Casey Cesnovar, Vice President, State and Local Government Relations, Walgreens
  • Krista Capehart, PharmD, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Wigner Institute for Advanced Pharmacy Practice, Education and Research at West Virginia University
  • Steve Williams, Mayor of Huntington, WV
  • Susan Bissett, PhD, President, West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute
  • Roger Hanshaw, PhD, JD, West Virginia Speaker of the House of Delegates
  • Nick Mercadante, JD, Co-Founder and CEO, PursueCare
  • Courtney Hunter, Vice President, State Policy, Shatterproof

These experts highlighted several key factors in West Virginia’s opioid epidemic response, including: a holistic approach to prevention, the power of communities and collaboration, the need for education at all levels, removing barriers to care and reducing stigma. 

In addition to the West Virginia webinar, DisposeRx has hosted virtual panels that focusing on the opioid and COVID-19 response in Ohio and Kentucky. Each webinar in the series can be found by visiting https://disposerx.com/page/54/state-webinars.

About DisposeRx Packets
DisposeRx at-home medication disposal packets are comprised of materials that are FDA-approved for oral medications and provide a simple, convenient and effective solution for the disposal of unused or expired medications. The active ingredient in the medication is chemically and physically sequestered in a polymer gel when water and the DisposeRx powder are added to a prescription vial and shaken. Patients can use the patented product with pills, tablets, capsules, liquids and powders and can then throw away the vial in the household trash.

About DisposeRx, Inc.
DisposeRx, Inc., a North Carolina-based company, is dedicated to decreasing the risks of drug diversion, overdoses, suicides, accidental poisonings and antibiotic resistance by facilitating medication management behavior change and eradicating the misuse of leftover medications. DisposeRx’s market-leading, patented drug disposal packets and education programs are currently available at 60% of retail pharmacies and through 90% of the wholesale pharmacy and medical distributors across the nation. For more information, visit DisposeRx.com.

New Address

DisposeRx has moved! Our corporate office
address is now located at:

 

DisposeRx, Inc.
146 NW Broad Street
Southern Pines, NC 28387

 

Please update your address book. Thank you and remember to check your medicine cabinet and dispose of any unneeded or expired medications.

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