Annual Bost Health Policy Forum to be held in Lexington Sept. 25; focus will be on "Kentucky's Substance Use Crisis"

The 2017 Howard L. Bost Health Policy Forum, "Kentucky's Substance Use Crisis: Solutions and Strategies" will have as its keynote speaker Sam Quinones, author of the book Dreamland, which chronicles the rise of prescription opioid abuse and subsequent addiction across the nation. Much of the book focuses on Portsmouth, Ohio, just across the river from Kentucky.

"Quinones' narrative is a compelling account of the opioid crisis that took 1,400 lives in Kentucky last year," Ben Chandler, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky president and CEO, said in the news release. "Kentucky's experience with both prescription and illicit opioids has been more severe and longer-lived than in most other states. Quinones and other presenters will help us better understand how we got to where we are today, how to climb our way out of this crisis, and the policy changes that can prevent this from happening again."

The annual forum is sponsored by the foundation with support from Gilead Sciences Inc., a research-based bio- pharmaceutical company, in memory of Dr. Howard L. Bost, who helped create Medicare and Medicaid, developed the Appalachian Regional Hospital system, improved mental-health services in Kentucky and created the vision for the foundation.

It will be held at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington on Monday, Sept 25. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Click here to register.

The forum will also feature a series of TED-style talks and afternoon breakout sessions that will explore where Kentucky stands related to the opioid epidemic; how evidence-based policy can work as a tool to address the social, economic and health impacts of opioid addiction; and prevention and intervention strategies.