Geisinger Health Plan Educates Teens, Communities on Opioid Abuse
DANVILLE, PA — We’ve #HadEnough, have you? That’s the message Geisinger Health Plan (GHP) is pushing out as they announce the launch of an opioid awareness and educational community initiative called #HadEnough.
“#HadEnough places the voice of the community into the heart of the campaign,” said John Bulger, DO, chief medical officer of Geisinger Health Plan, “It calls to action the power of a community to say ‘We’ve #HadEnough of needlessly losing lives and want to see change to help prevent addiction, stop opioid abuse and help those who struggle.’”
To support this initiative, GHP is sponsoring a speaker from the nationally recognized organization Tyler’s Light to talk to middle and high school students at five Pennsylvania high schools and one college about the dangers of opioid abuse. Wayne Campbell, the speaker and founder of Tyler’s Light, lost his son Tyler, a college football player, to opioid abuse following a college sports injury. School presentations will take place on the following dates:
• East Pennsboro High School – Monday, Oct. 17
• Northern York Middle School – Tuesday, Oct. 18
• Central Penn College – Tuesday, Oct. 18
• Shamokin Area High School – Thursday, Oct. 29
• Scranton Area High School and – Fri., Oct. 21
• West Scranton Area High Schoool – Fri., Oct. 21
GHP is also sponsoring two community panel discussions. Both sessions are free and open to the community to generate continued awareness and discussion surrounding the topic of opioid abuse.
The first community panel will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19 at East Pennsboro High School from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Panelists include:
• Wayne Campbell – founder, Tyler’s Light
• Todd Bashore – chief of police, East Pennsboro Police Department
• Sgt. Adam Shope – drug task force, East Pennsboro Police Department
• Hillary Nimtz, M.Ed – high school counselor, East Pennsboro Police Department
• Chad Acker, M.Ed – student assistance program prevention specialist, East Pennsboro School District
• Thomas Hughes – probation office, Cumberland county
• Alexis Jackson, Pharm. D – director of market health and wellness, Walmart pharmacy
• Carrie Delone, MD – medical director
The second community panel will be held Thursday, Oct. 20 at Shamokin Area High School from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Panelists include:
• John Bulger, DO, MBA – chief medical officer, Geisinger Health Plan
• Kurt Masser – Pennsylvania state representative, 107th district
• Corporal Scott Davis – drug evaluation classification coordinator, Pennsylvania State Police
• William Poray – counseling manager, Geisinger Marworth
• Andy Mendenhall – regional medical director, Clean Slate Addiction Treatment Centers
• Heather Lawler – restaurant manager, recovering addict
“This year to date, approximately 94,000 GHP members have been given scripts for opioids. Of those 94,000 members, approximately 12,000 have received scripts for six consecutive months or more, so many of our GHP members are potentially at risk, too,” explained Dr. Bulger. “As a health plan, we have the perfect opportunity to help our members avoid addiction or get the help they need. This initiative speaks to the heart of our own organization.”
View GHP’s #HadEnough introduction video.
For more information about Tyler’s Light, visit Tylerslight.com.
About Geisinger Health Plan
Geisinger Health Plan, begun in 1985, is headquartered in Danville, Pennsylvania. Geisinger Health Plan’s HMO, PPO and Geisinger Gold’s HMO are among the highest-rated private and Medicare health plans in the nation.* The plan serves approximately 554,000 members in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maine. Coverage is available for businesses of all sizes, individuals and families, Medicare beneficiaries, Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medical Assistance recipients. For more information, please visit TheHealthPlan.com.
*NCQA’s Private and Medicare Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2016-2017. Geisinger Health Plan’s PPO is listed in NCQA Health Insurance Plan Ratings under Geisinger Quality Options. Geisinger Gold HMO is listed in NCQA Health Insurance Plan Ratings under Geisinger Health Plan.
