The Nittany Lion Shrine basks in the early morning sunlight on a crisp, autumn day. The shrine, cut from a 13-ton block of limestone by Heinz Warneke and Joseph Garatti, was dedicated in October of 1942 and celebrated it's 77th birthday Oct. 24.
Dr. Gillian Beauchamp, emergency medical physician and toxicologist at the Lehigh Valley Health Network, delivered the final expert presentation of the day. Dr. Beauchamp works with an emergency room team and EMS professionals to treat overdose victims. “The idea,” says Beauchamp, “is that hope happens at a place like a hospital. It happens in an emergency department.”
Bill Rowan, program director of the Center for Counseling Services at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Schuylkill, spoke about counseling and resources pertinent to the disease of addiction.
In his keynote address, Dr. Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of Criminal Justice at Penn State Abington, provided an overview of the opioid crisis from the early 2000s until today. “This is a disease. This is not a moral failing,” he said.
