Description

“Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered,” said Administrator Anne Milgram. “Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison. We must take every opportunity to spread the word to prevent fentanyl-related overdose death and poisonings from claiming scores of American lives every day.” DEA.gov 

Join us for this eye-opening session that you won’t want to miss! Find out just how devastating substance abuse can be to your employees and their families, how it affects productivity and the liability that users pose to their employers, customers and the general public. Learn how to better recognize the signs of substance abuse in the workplace and, most importantly, how you and your supervisors should address these problems.

"Construction workers have been shown in many studies to have high rates of death from overdose compared to workers in other occupations." CDC.gov 

Meet Your Course Instructor: 

Richard Witt

Drug Intelligence Officer

HI-HIDTA

Richard (Rico) Witt is the Drug Intelligence Officer at Hawaii HIDTA. He has held that position since 2020 and began working with HIDTA in 2018. He retired from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, where he worked from 1989 to 2012; most of the time investigating narcotics trafficking. He also has expertise in bomb investigations as well as hazardous materials having worked on both the Unabomber and Anthrax investigations and the Major Crimes Team. Prior to beginning work for the U.S. Postal Service in 1985, he studied dentistry in Mexico and was a professor of dentistry at the University of Durango, Mexico for several years. Originally from New York, after returning to the US, spent 20 years in San Francisco and came to Hawaii in 2004 to remain.

Aashish Hemrajani, MA

Public Health Analyst – Hawaii

Overdose Response Strategy | Hawaii HIDTA

“Aashish Hemrajani is the Hawaii Public Health Analyst for the Overdose Response Strategy, a public health – public safety partnership between HIDTA and the CDC Foundation. Originally trained in medical anthropology, Aashish received his master’s degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2016. His ethnographic research focused on homelessness and medical care in Honolulu. After graduating, Aashish spent five years working at the Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center (H3RC) taking on roles of progressive responsibility as a Housing Outreach Worker for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, a Medical Case Manager for people living with HIV/AIDS, a Housing First Case Manager, and Housing Outreach Program Coordinator. In these roles, he assisted H3RC leadership with building a cohesive housing program within the context of a harm reduction and health-focused organization. Aashish joined the CDC Foundation’s Overdose Response Strategy as Public Health Analyst for the state of Hawaii in early 2022 and sits between the State Department of Health and the Hawaii HIDTA. Under the direction of Dr. Amy Curtis at DOH-AMHD and Gary Yabuta at Hawaii HIDTA, Aashish engages a wide variety of community partners and stakeholders to develop public health – public safety partnerships to address overdose. He provides support and data for innovative interventions, conducts trainings on naloxone and drug awareness, and builds bridges between diverse sectors all working to address overdose and behavioral health in Hawaii.”

Michelle J. Park, CPS

Program Manager

Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii

Michelle Park is originally from New Mexico, of the Laguna and Navajo Tribes and the Corn and Big Water Clans. She has made Hawaii home since 2003. Michelle is currently a Program Manager, Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS) and Master Trainer to support the Prevention Technology and Transfer Center Region 9 trainings within Hawaii. Her professional background prior to Hawaii includes conducting health education and prevention research programs at the University of New Mexico. She has conducted substance abuse prevention training and supports community prevention efforts as a consultant. Michelle currently facilitates direct service program outreach with youth, families, communities, and supports Hawaii’s workforce in training accessibility. She has worked with a variety of community, state and regional partners to consciously resonate cultural approaches with youth programs, local families, and community coalitions in the Pacific Rim. Her work experience demonstrates a variety of skills that emphasizes conducting effective prevention programs while building healthy and resilient communities using a grassroots approach.  

The Hawaii HIDTA consists of 15 primary initiatives which are structured into 14 enforcement task forces, four intelligence initiatives within the Investigative Support Center (ISC), and four additional management, support, prevention and training initiatives. 

The Hawaii HIDTA facilitates cooperation and collaboration among multiple law enforcement organizations operating within the region. Cooperation and collaboration among initiatives and agencies is a common practice in the program and results in successful arrests, seizures, disruptions, and dismantling of drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). The accomplishments of each initiative and task force are significant components of an aggregate picture of the program-wide accomplishments at a regional level. These regional aggregate accomplishments culminate into a National HIDTA Program success in combating the drug problems facing the nation. 

The Overdose Response Strategy (ORS) is an unprecedented national Public Health—Public Safety partnership between the HIDTA program, the CDC Foundation, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The ORS accomplishes its singular mission, to reduce overdose deaths and save lives, through a four-pronged approach which addresses law enforcement; evidence-based response; treatment and recovery; and substance use prevention.

Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii provides innovative programs and services with expertise in designing and implementing effective prevention programs for youth; strengthening families; advancing gender-specific programs for girls in Hawaii; building grassroots partnerships to create healthy, drug- and violence-free communities; and establishing collaborative relationships with public and private agencies. CDFH has an excellent history of accomplishments in providing evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs and services for universal, selective, and indicated populations in Hawaii.