Bethlehem, PA. – September 18, 2018 – PBS39 seeks solutions for older adults in the Lehigh Valley’s opioid crisis with “Community Conversation – Opioids and the Baby Boomer Generation.” This live presentation will take place in the studios at PBS39 in Bethlehem, and will be broadcast on PBS39 and streamed live on the PBS39 website and Facebook page on Tuesday, September 24 at 7 p.m. Monica Evans, executive producer and on-air personality from PBS39, will be the moderator. The opioid crisis has also been thought of as something that just affects young people. However, nearly 42,000 Americans over the age of 45 died from an opioid overdose in 2016. That’s about 42 percent of all overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The discussion will focus on adults with chronic pain or health issues who became addicted and/or dependent on opioids. Also, we will examine how opioids have changed the family structure by forcing older adults to care for their opioid-dependent children and their grandchildren. The panel will include two doctors. Ming R. Wang, M.D. is an addiction medicine physician who oversees the older adult’s unit and women’s care at Caron Treatment Centers. The other is Thomas M. Nappe, DO, the Medical Director of Toxicology at St. Luke’s University Health Network, who will speak to the body’s reaction to drugs, the recovery process and how first responders can use Naloxone to save lives.

In addition, guests will include Victor Guadagnino, founder and Chief Business Development Officer at Keystone Canna Remedies, one of Pennsylvania’s first medical marijuana dispensaries using medical marijuana to ease suffering across a broad spectrum of afflictions. Also scheduled to appear is Timothy Munsch, Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Drug and Alcohol Intake Unit. In addition, guests will include older adults battling opioid addiction, law enforcement personnel, first responders and members of the judicial system who deal with this epidemic every day in the courtroom.

“The opioid crisis in Pennsylvania and throughout our country is a very timely topic. As PBS39 fulfills its role in the Greater Lehigh Valley to act as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, we will connect our community through civil discourse around this very important issue,” said Tim Fallon, Chief Executive Officer of PBS39. “Objective, solution-based journalism is a hallmark of our brand promise. That is why we are so pleased to be hosting this event as part of a statewide project in which public media is helping to raise awareness of this crisis, and offer solutions.”

During this public forum, members of the studio audience will be allowed to ask questions of the panel members, while television and online viewers will have an opportunity to ask questions through a variety of online platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and PBS39.org.

“The opioid crisis and the stigma attached to it needs to be discussed in a safe environment, and PBS39 has an obligation to convene our community for this kind of discourse,” said Yoni Greenbaum, Chief Content Officer for PBS39. “As issues arise, PBS39 will be hosting events like this to help our TV viewers and digital users understand topics and issues that are important to them and their families.”

About PBS39

PBS39 is a community-owned public television station licensed to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, Pa., serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 is owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. PBS39 acts as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources. PBS39 Reporter Corps journalists are embedded in the ten counties that make up the Greater Lehigh Valley, including Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe in Pennsylvania, plus Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. The Reporter Corps creates community-focused content for PBS39 News Tonight and for the PBS39 digital platform. For more information, visit wlvt.org.