June 8th, 2017 by WCBC Radio
The Greater Cumberland Committee organized an Addictions Symposium Thursday at Frostburg State University.
The mission was already considered to be urgent. Still, what was a determined group was stunned when the conference opened.
In his welcoming remarks, TGCC Immediate Past Chair John Smyth told attendees that just last week, a five year old was found wandering in Cresaptown. Soon, it was found that both of his parents had died of an overdose.
Such a story is rare on the national scene, but not unique. Locally, it's not only a tragedy, but brings the opioid crisis into stark focus.
Presenters at the symposium included Clay Stamp, Chariman of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's Emergency Management Advisory Council and Executive Director of the Opioid Operational Command Center; Joshua Sharstein, MD, former Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and Training at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and James Pyles, Director of Safety and Security at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
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