Michael Link, Community Relations Director with DBHDD (GA Dept of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities) spoke to our club on March 9. The main thrust of his discussion was on opioid abuse in Georgia.

His department provides a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week crisis access line. It is staffed by licensed clinicians. It is free and confidential. It is available in is all 159 counties in Georgia.

He discussed the landmark victory the State of Oklahoma won against Johnson & Johnson in 2019. The judgement amount was for $572Mil for J&J’s contribution to the opioid crisis.

Also discussed was how Doctors can help. They can encourage their patients to lock up their medications and properly dispose of unused and expired medications. They can also discuss with patients when is too long to take these meds.

The Federal Government has granted a $19Mil per year for two years to the state of Georgia as well as other states to increase access to treatment and reduce opioid overdose deaths through prevention, treatment and recovery activities.

For more information about the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, visit this link:
https://dbhdd.georgia.gov/

From left to right: Nancy Schroeder, 2019-2020 President of the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs and Michael Link, Community Relations Director with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs thanks Michael for his thoughtful presentation and for all the work he has done in his field.

These photos and more can be downloaded free of charge here: https://rotaryclubofsandysprings.zenfolio.com/p223...