Find out how to address opioid issues in the workplace

The Daily Herald Business Ledger and Daily Herald Media group are presenting an opioid forum at 11 a.m. on Feb. 22.

The event, at the Drake Oak Brook Hotel, will feature a panel of experts who will discuss the widespread abuse of opioid drugs in the community and its impact on the workforce and in the workplace.

The panel moderator is Mary Lynn Fayoumi, president & CEO of the Management Association in Downers Grove.

Panelists include Dr. Ankur Dave, interventional pain management specialist and medical director of pain management neurosciences institute at Amita Health; Dr. William J. Robb, III, orthopedic director, chief medical officer at Illinois Bone & Joint Institute and Lance C. Ziebell, senior associate at Lavelle Law Ltd.

Amita Health and Illinois Bone & Joint Institute are sponsoring the event.

Opioid issues in the workplace can include: drug-free workplace policy, understanding the law for prescription drug use at work, signs of impairment and abuse, safe handling, operating machinery and driving while using opioids and the impact on workers' compensation.

In 2014, an estimated 1.9 million Americans suffered from substance abuse disorder related to prescription opioid pain releavers and 435,000 people were estimated to be addicted to heroin, organizers of the event said.

And in Illinois, more people died from an opioid drug overdose in 2014 than from homicide or motor vehicle accidents.

The cost for the lunch event is $45. To register, go to dailyherald.com/events. For more contact Andy Zielonka at azielonka@dailyherald.com.