Witnessing the opioid epidemic/Designing with beauty and diversity

 

What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, April 17, 2017:

Thousands of Pennsylvanians have died of drug overdoses over the past five years.  Heroin was most often the culprit in the deadly overdoses -sometimes laced with other chemicals like fentanyl.   

The opioid crisis has reached epidemic proportions and is sweeping this country.  Many times, the user starts with prescription opioid painkillers and then moves on to heroin which is much cheaper. 

The bottom line is too many people are dying – even though many first responders and police are equiped with naloxone, which can literally bring an overdose victim back to life. 

We talk about this issue often but sometimes it is from a wide angle.  On Monday’s Smart Talk, we have two people who see it up close and personal on a daily basis.

Appearing on the program are York County Coroner Pam Gay and Andrew Gilger – Paramedic/Performance Improvement Lieutenant, Lancaster EMS.

Also, the Manada Conservancy – Dauphin County’s land trust – is teaming up with the Appalachian Audubon Society to celebrate its 20^th anniversary with a special event this Thursday, April 27^th. 

The theme will be designing for beauty and biodiversity. 

One of the keynote speakers is Dr. Douglas Tallamy, Professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and author of the award winning book, Bringing Nature Home  and Richard Zaino, president of the Manada Conservancy board join us.