NEWS

UNC’s Roper to speak on public health’s top challenges at public policy program

Dr. Bill Roper, dean of UNC’s School of Public Health, will speak on public health’s top three challenges today and in 2020 at a public policy program for residents of the Research Triangle area.

The program, sponsored by the N.C. Progress Board, will be held Friday (Nov. 22) from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at the university’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education.

The program also will feature Norris Tolson, secretary of the N.C. Department of Revenue, who will discuss government accountability. Small-group discussions will be held during the assembly focusing on the economy, environment and education.

The N.C. Progress Board is an independent state board, chaired by the governor, whose mission is to define a long-term vision for the future of the state, set clear and quantifiable goals to realize that mission and measure North Carolina’s progress in meeting these goals.

To register, download registration material from "What’s New" at www.theprogressboard.org and fax to (919) 513-3790. Registration is $12 and includes breakfast and lunch.

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National Survivors of Suicide Day recognized in Chapel Hill

The UNC School of Medicine’s department of psychiatry will participate in National Survivors of Suicide Day on Saturday (Nov. 23) by sponsoring a local site for people in the Triangle area to take part in a national live satellite broadcast.

An estimated 30,000 people die by suicide in the United States each year. Survivors – family members, friends and co-workers – often experience shock, depression, anger or physical and emotional numbness.

The local program, featuring a mental health professional and other survivor volunteers, will begin at 11:45 a.m. at the university’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education.

The national broadcast will feature three veteran survivors, together with a psychiatrist and a therapist. Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, author of "The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives," will also be featured.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is sponsoring the national program, which will link more than 30 local conferences through the live satellite broadcast; the program also will be simulcast online at www.afsp.org.

For more information about the local program, contact Phil Morse at (919) 542-6386 or Larry Bernstein at (919) 420-0227.

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School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467 or lisa_katz@unc.edu
Department of psychiatry contact: Crystal Hinson, (919) 966-9115
News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415