One-thousand eight-hundred eighty-one flags in the lawn outside Pavilion D represent the 1,881 people who died in Colorado from overdose in 2021 – a 27% increase over the year before. The numbers are even more startling in Denver, where drug overdose deaths have more than doubled in the last two years. Denver Health’s Center for Addiction Medicine remembered lives lost, raised awareness and reduced stigma in an Overdose Awareness Day event on the main campus August 31. Watch the replay here.
“I see evidence that we can reverse this public health emergency,” said Dr. Scott Simpson, a psychiatrist and the medical director of Psychiatric Emergency Services at Denver Health. He told the crowd why he’s proud to provide addiction treatment and explained how the catastrophe may be reversed in a local news opinion column.
At nightfall, Denver Health illuminated Pavilion A purple to spread the message of hope and harm reduction.
CAM Workgroup Leader Recruitment
The Center for Addiction Medicine (CAM) is recruiting two leaders for their new workgroups: one leader for the center's Inclusive & Compassionate Care Workgroup and one leader for their Full Continuum of Care Workgroup. "This is an amazing opportunity for professional development, leadership and to be engaged in systems change efforts across our organization that relate to substance misuse and increasing services for individuals with substance use disorders," said Alia Palacio, administrative assistant for the CAM. Learn more in the workgroup leader overview. If interested, fill out the application form.