2nd Annual NJ Healthy Aging Summit to Address Opioid Use Among Older Adults
Atlantic City, May 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2nd Annual NJ Healthy Aging Summit on Opioid Safety & Alternatives will be held on Friday, June 5, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino. Convened by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ), the summit will highlight the risks associated with prescription opioid use among older adults while promoting evidence-based alternatives and resources that support healthy aging.
“Supporting healthy aging in New Jersey means confronting the realities of opioid dependency among older adults,” said PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo M. Valente. “This summit provides an important opportunity to raise awareness, share practical solutions, and empower older residents with safer, more informed approaches to pain management.”
Dr. Stephen Cha, Acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, will provide welcome remarks to open the conference.
The summit will explore opioid prescribing and addiction among older adults, trends in prescribing and the associated risks of dependency, and guidelines for the safe use, storage, and disposal of medications. In addition, sessions will highlight evidence-based alternatives for managing acute and chronic pain, including strategies that promote healthy aging such as exercise, nutrition, mental wellness, and other holistic approaches to maintaining strength, balance, and overall well-being. Participants will also learn how to access community resources and services that support healthy aging.
Featured speakers include Dr. Andrew Kolodny, Medical Director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and Executive Director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, who will provide an overview of the opioid epidemic and opioid alternatives. Dr. Diane P. Calello, Executive and Medical Director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center, and Danielle R. Bartsche, Public Health Education Specialist with the New Jersey Poison Control Center, will present on the safe storage and disposal of opioids and other medications.
A panel discussion on healthy aging will feature Kolodny; Dr. Shuvendu Sen, vice chair of research and faculty at Jersey Shore University Medical Center; Dr. Laura Byham-Gray, vice chair for research with the Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences at the School of Health Professions at Rutgers University; and physical therapist Paul Vidal, past president of the American Physical Therapy Association of New Jersey. Robin Stoloff, host of “Living Well with Robin Stoloff,” will serve as Master of Ceremonies, and exercise sessions will be led by Shebah Carfagna, a 2025 AARP Sponsored Athlete with Panache Fitness, and Nate Wilkins of Panache Fitness.
The first-ever NJ Healthy Aging Summit, held in Atlantic City on September 26, 2025, brought together more than 400 older adults, caregivers, and healthcare and social service professionals to hear from nationally recognized experts about the risks associated with opioid pain relievers and evidence-based alternatives for treating acute and chronic pain. The event launched the Healthy Aging Campaign, which provides opioid safety education and resources for older adults and those who support them. The campaign’s prevention messages will be shared statewide through billboards, bus shelters, and advertising on PATH and NJ Transit trains.
PDFNJ also released an educational video offering older adults and their families information about opioid risks and safer pain-management strategies.
The summit addresses the growing vulnerabilities facing older adults, many of whom manage multiple prescriptions, chronic pain, and slower drug metabolism. These factors can increase the risk of opioid misuse or dangerous medication interactions.
Older adults in New Jersey had the highest number of suspected overdose deaths in 2025, with 278, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. This is more than any other age group, including teens and young adults.
National trends show the crisis continuing to escalate among older populations. Since 2015, overdose deaths involving fentanyl among adults aged 65 and older have increased by more than 9,000 percent, highlighting the urgent need for targeted education and prevention efforts.
A limited number of transportation vouchers are available for municipalities interested in sending senior residents to attend the event.
To register or learn more, visit NJHealthyAging.org.
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Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 232 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.
Lisa Batitto Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey 973-467-2100 news@drugfreenj.org
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