ABOUT
Opioid Addiction and Recovery Committee
Members
Susan Sargent, Consultant, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Katrin Diana, RN, Director, Emergency Department, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
Kym Laube, Executive Director of HUGS, Inc.
Alana Urbont Marino, LMSW, Director of Community Engagement of HUGS, Inc.
Karen Martin, PH.D, Director of Prevention, Alternative Counseling Services
Linn Turecamo, Community Leader
Mark Epley, Chief Executive Officer, Seafield Center
James Romagnoli, VP Security, Northwell Health
Dr. Dan VanArsdale, Addiction Specialist, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
Dr. Paul Garson-Stony, Brook Southampton Hospital
Drew Scott, Family Member of Victim
Alfredo Merat,12 step program recovery member
Danielle Alberti, Family Member of Victim
Fr. Constantine Lazarakis, Clergy
Southampton Town Police Chief
Nicholas J. Dyno, Ed.D., Superintendent, Southampton Public School District
Samantha Barrett, Hampton Bays High School Graduate
Kimberly Spellman-Mc Clain, Southampton High School
Tory Masters, from the former Mental Health Committee
Tracy Kolsin, LCSW, Director, Town of Southampton Youth Bureau
Cara Sultan, Town of Southampton Youth Bureau
Jamie Bowden Community Services, from the former Mental Health Committee
Colleen Murphy, Nurse Case Manager-Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
Jessica Lennon, ER Nurse Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
Christine Cantrell, Stony Brook Southampton-Recovery Coach
Cyndi McNamara, Town of Southampton Councilperson
The Southampton Town Opioid Addiction Task Force Draft Report
The Southampton Town Opioid Addiction Task Force began in October 2017 because far too many people were dying from opioid drug overdoses. In the Town of Southampton, a community of 60 thousand people, there were 19 deaths in 2017. The nationwide epidemic of opioid addiction was hitting home. In 2016, sixty-four thousand people nationwide died from opioid drugs; that’s more than the number of people killed in the Vietnam War. It wasn’t just an urban problem, it was spreading into every corner of the country, including
the Town of Southampton.
It hit home in September 2017 with former News 12 anchor Drew Scott, a Westhampton resident. His beautiful 22 year old granddaughter, Hallie Rae Ulrich, was found on the side of the road, the victim of a heroin overdose. Tests showed there were traces of fentanyl…a synthetic heroin that is now widely available on the street. When it happened to his family, many wondered if it could happen to theirs.
So the Town of Southampton Opioid Addiction Task Force was created to find solutions to stop the epidemic. It started with a dozen people, but soon it grew to twice that size and it ended with 42 members of the Task Force. They were educators, medical professionals, people in recovery or people directly affected by the crisis.
We are now an Opioid Addiction & Recovery Committee working to find solutions to this crisis.
Draft Report Recommendations
