FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 8, 2024
Contacts: Lisa Batitto, news@drugfreenj.org

Cumberland County Offers
Opioid Education for Healthcare Professionals
 

BRIDGETON – The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office have teamed up to provide healthcare professionals with essential training in safe opioid prescribing practices. 

The Prosecutor’s Office will provide free scholarships for Cumberland County healthcare professionals to earn state-mandated continuing medical education provided by PDFNJ through its webinar, “Do No Harm: Exploring Strategies for Safer Prescribing of Opioids.”

The course is tailored to a wide range of healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, dentists, and medical students. This educational initiative aligns with New Jersey’s 2017 opioid legislation, which not only limits initial opioid prescriptions to a five-day supply but also mandates healthcare providers discuss opioid risks and alternative pain management options with patients. 

“Southern counties in New Jersey continue to have much higher opioid prescription rates per capita than our Central and North Jersey counterparts, according to the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program,” said Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. “As such, we hope this training becomes a catalyst for lowering prescription rates in the seemingly never-ending battle against opioid abuse in our area.”

This program represents a collaborative effort between Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties. PDFNJ’s accredited online course features medical, law enforcement and legal experts discussing the impact of the opioid epidemic on New Jersey and providing the most updated information on how to prescribe opioids safely and responsibly to patients. The curriculum also fulfills New Jersey’s continuing education requirement prescribers must complete to renew their license.

“We aim to equip healthcare professionals in Cumberland County and beyond with the latest pain management and opioid prescribing knowledge,” said Angelo Valente, Executive Director of PDFNJ. “This initiative is crucial for reducing opioid misuse and ensuring comprehensive, informed patient care.”

For more information on the accredited curriculum, visit  drugfreenj.org/TriCountySafeRx.

###

Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 226 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.