SALISBURY – This Saturday, students from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) School of Pharmacy and Health Professions will offer a free drug abuse awareness clinic to members of the community.
The Substance and Opioid Abuse Awareness Response (S.O.A.A.R.) event will offer resources and support from health professionals, counselors and educators.
James Bresette, UMES associate dean for Development and External Relations and associate professor in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, said the event is a direct response to the growing number of overdoses seen in Maryland.
“This is a public health issue,” he said. “We have to do our part.”
Bresette said plans to host an event of this nature began last year, after Bresette attended a conference on drug abuse.
Students in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions encouraged the idea and ultimately played a large role in spearheading the event.
“They are doing so much of the work,” he said.
For example, he said one student designed the logo – the university’s mascot clutching a Narcan nasal spray in its talons – through a student competition to name the event.
He said more than 100 students, staff volunteers and speakers have offered their time to the S.O.A.A.R. event, including two mothers who lost their sons to an overdose.
Bresette said one of these men, Paul Montalvo, was a graduate student who died one week after the school offered a Narcan training session. His roommate, a pharmacy student, was not present at the time of his death.
“You can provide the training and you can provide Narcan, but you can’t use alone,” he said.
In February of last year, Bresette said the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene approved the pharmacy school’s own opioid overdose response program. Since then, the program has trained more than 260 people, including students and resident assistants.
Bresette said although the state has seen some improvement in significant increase data, he said Maryland continues to be a top performer in drug overdoses.
“It’s not a cause for celebration,” he said. “It’s not like we should pat ourselves on the back.”
The goal of the S.O.A.A.R. event is to inform community members on drug overdoses, addiction, resources and Narcan.
Following registration and opening remarks, Bresette said five concurrent workshops focused on support and resources will take place from 9:15 a.m. to noon. During that time, certified pharmacy students will host continuous Narcan training sessions for members of the public.
“They have been trained on it in the public health course and will evaluate people during the Narcan training,” Bresette said.
Those that complete the training will receive a complimentary Narcan rescue kit.
The school will host a panel discussion following the workshops from noon to 1 p.m., where five community members, Debbie Wessels of The Salisbury School, Dr. Robert Coker of Hudson Health Services, Dr. Sid Barnes of McCready Health, Kendra Hayward of the Somerset County State’s Attorney’s Office and Bryan Lloyd of SonRise Church – Salisbury Campus, will offer their perspectives on substance abuse prevention and treatment.
Bresette said the event is an equal opportunity for community members to break the stigma and access resources for them or their loved ones.
“We have to do something more than just prevention,” he said. “There has to be some transition to treatment.”
S.O.A.A.R. will take place in the Student Services Center at UMES from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Complimentary breakfast, lunch and childcare will be provided.
To register for the S.O.A.A.R. event, visit https://soaar.typeform.com/to/jXowGk.
“We think it is a huge event for our local community,” Bresette said. “It brings a health resource for the Delmarva region.”
