ATLANTA (April 23, 2019) — The Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit named John L. Eadie as the recipient of the second annual Congressman Hal Rogers Beacon of Hope Award. The award is named for Hal Rogers, U.S. Congressman, Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District, the founder of Operation UNITE, the original organizer of and now educational advisor for the summit.
Eadie, who lives in Rensselaer, N.Y., is the Public Health and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program’s (PDMP) project coordinator for the National Emerging Threats Initiative, a National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program.
“There are countless leaders and champions in this fight who have taken glimmers of hope and have turned them into brilliant beacons for their communities,” said Doug Edwards, director, HMP’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Learning Network. “John is one of those heroes. The Rx Summit wanted to shine a spotlight on his more than four decades of work fighting addiction and stopping those who seek to profit from it.”
Eadie worked for the New York State Department of Health from 1970 to 2001. From 1985 to 1995 he was the director of the Division of Public Health Protection, including the Bureau of Controlled Substances, where he directed the State’s pharmaceutical diversion program, including the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). He co-founded the Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Programs (ASPMP) and the National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities (NASCSA). From 2010 to 2015, he was founding Director of the PDMP Center of Excellence at Brandeis University. In 2015, he transferred to the HIDTA Program. Eadie also serves on the National Advisory Board for the Rx Summit.
“You might call him the Paul Revere of PDMPs,” Rogers said. “His expertise on prescription drug monitoring programs is simply unmatched, and he has combed through every single detail, because he believes in the utility of the programs to combat opioid abuse.”
Founded in 2012, the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit is now the largest national gathering of professionals from “federal to family”: local, state and, federal agencies, public health officials, business executives, academia, treatment providers, advocates, law enforcement, and family members working to find solutions that address the prescription drug abuse and misuse epidemic. More than 3,000 attendees participated in 2018. Previous notable speakers have included President Barack Obama in 2016, Congressman Patrick Kennedy and Speaker Newt Gingrich in 2017, and former President Bill Clinton and Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway in 2018. The meeting is produced by HMP, a leader in healthcare events and education.
The 2019 program will deliver practical, evidence-based education and actionable takeaways in 12 key areas, from national policy action to prevention strategies.
To learn more about the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, visit rx-summit.com.