Lt. Governor Hall-Long asked to lead Delaware’s addiction efforts

joint-addressIn his first address to a joint General Assembly, Governor Carney highlighted some of Delaware’s recent successes, along with areas he is aiming to improve upon as Delaware’s Governor. Among those areas is Delaware’s need to combat the deadly addiction epidemic that took the lives of over 300 Delawareans in 2016. Governor Carney hopes that he can work to lower that number.

“Prevention is key” said Governor Carney.  “But, we also need an all hands on deck approach to save the lives of those battling opioid and heroin addiction.”

In his speech, Governor Carney tapped Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long to lead Delaware’s efforts in combating addiction, improving mental health services, and creating a statewide integrated system of care. Lt. Governor Hall-Long, a nurse, and former chair of the Senate Health and Social Services Committee brings a combination of background and expertise in this arena.

“We lose about 20 Delawareans to overdoses each month”, Lt. Governor Hall-Long stated. “This is an epidemic that ignores income, race, and geography. Fighting it is a team effort that requires us to stay one step ahead, and I look forward to leading Delaware’s effort to combat this deadly epidemic and focus on improved delivery and coordination of mental health services statewide.”

Governor Carney and Lt. Governor Hall-Long hope to have legislation in place later this year that would begin to address the most pressing issues including overdose deaths, access to care, and treatment delivery.