Opioid epidemic workshop comes to campus

Cedarville University will host a continuing education workshop titled “Standing at the Epicenter of the Opioid Epidemic” on Friday, Sept. 15. The conference is from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and will be held in the Stevens Student Center.

The six-hour workshop will educate pharmacists, social workers, counselors, students and pastors on the ethical treatment of drug addiction. Training is designed to specifically address the pervasive issue of opioid drug abuse that touches the Ohio community.

The workshop costs $79 per person and has been approved for six Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists and chemical dependency counselors, including three CEUs for ethics.

Morning sessions will provide a brief history of U.S. drug policy, outline different perspectives on addiction and detail the addiction process. After lunch, the workshop will focus on ethical addiction treatment options as well as signs, symptoms and treatment of opioid overdose.

Cedarville adjunct professor Barry Wideman, LISW-S, LICDC-S, will lead the workshop. Wideman currently works in the Mental Health Clinic at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center on the suboxone treatment program team. His 28 years of field experience in mental health and substance abuse treatment includes work in rural and urban mental health agencies, substance abuse and DUI intervention programs and countywide crisis intervention agencies.

Online registration for this event closes September 8, 2017. All proceeds benefit social work student scholarships.

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.