NJ Healthy Aging Summit To Spotlight Opioid Safety And Alternatives For Older Adults

(MENAFN- GlobeNewsWire - Nasdaq) ATLANTIC CITY, Sept. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A conference later this month will examine the keys to healthy aging and the challenges that prescribed opioids and opioid dependency pose to the older adult population. "NJ Healthy Aging Summit: Opioid Safety & Alternatives" will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, September 26, at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.

The event will bring together healthcare professionals, community leaders, and advocates to highlight the risks of prescription opioids, as well as alternative forms of pain management and resources to support healthy aging and prevent opioid dependency. Older adults, professionals working in senior services, and healthcare providers are encouraged to attend.

Holly Geyer, MD, physician lead of the Opioid Stewardship Program and consultant in the Division of Hospital Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, will be the keynote speaker. Shebah Carfagna, founder of Miami-based Panache Fitness and Healing Companies and an AARP Sponsored Athlete, will provide wellness tips and exercises to the audience throughout the summit.

“Supporting healthy aging in New Jersey means confronting the realities of opioid dependency among older people," said Angelo Valente, Executive Director of Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey. "This summit is an important opportunity to raise opioid awareness and education among the older population, helping New Jersey residents better understand the risks and empowering them to seek safer, more informed approaches to pain management."

The opioid epidemic of the past two decades has not spared older adults. Since 2002, opioid overdose deaths among adults 65 and older have risen by 300 percent, while emergency department visits for opioid-related issues among seniors are up 16 percent. Recent studies found that 1 in 8 older adults is prescribed opioids every year.

In New Jersey, adults aged 55-64 recorded the highest number of suspected overdose deaths from January to April 2025, with 87 fatalities, more than any other age group.

Topics covered at the summit will include opioid prescribing and addiction, trends in prescribing and the associated increased risk of dependency, guidelines for the safe use, storage, and disposal of medications, promoting safer alternatives for pain management, and how to access critical resources and services.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the sponsor for breakfast. To register, visit NJHealthyAging.org .

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

###

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 230 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations

CONTACT: Lisa Batitto Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey 973-467-2100 ...

MENAFN04092025004107003653ID1110018571