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11/14/2005
JOHNSON CITY – The growing problem of
methamphetamine and substance abuse use in
Appalachia will be the theme of a major health
conference in 2006 hosted by the College of Public
and Allied Health at East Tennessee State
University.
The event is slated for March 20-22 at the Centre
at Millennium Park and will address community
approaches to the problem of drug abuse, prevention
options, funding strategies, and coalition
building.
Conference organizers will be encouraging
applications from community teams comprised of
individuals representing the agencies, offices, and
groups that cope with the effects of substance
abuse, particularly methamphetamine production.
“Methamphetamine use devastates communities
through human and environmental degradation and is
a major threat to the health of the public,”
said Dr. Creg Bishop, Interim Dean of Public and
Allied Health at ETSU. “This conference will
emphasize a whole-community approach to substance
abuse problems with the goal of assisting each team
to complete a take-home action plan.”
Support from the Appalachian Regional Commission,
the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and the
Southeast Public Health Training Center at the
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
will be used to offer competitive scholarships to
qualifying team members who attend the conference.
Bruce Behringer, ETSU Assistant Vice President for
Rural and Community Health and Community
Partnerships, convened a planning workshop earlier
in the fall that brought together individuals from
various stakeholder groups, including public
safety, government, mental health, public health,
medicine, environmental protection, and the media.
This group concluded that the problem affects
entire communities and requires greater awareness
and the sharing of proven prevention and treatment
methods.
“No one owns this problem – no one
profession, no one individual, and no one community
in Appalachia,” Behringer said. “By
bringing people together, we can see intersections
and gather different opinions that could bring
about resolutions and strategies that work.”
Application forms for scholarships and conference
registration will be distributed in December 2005.
Attendance will be limited. For more information,
send an email to methconference@etsu.edu or call
(423) 439-7658.
The event location is at
Centre at Millennium Park.
If you have any questions or comments, please
contact
.
You may call
(423)439-7658 for more
information.
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