Southern Campus student part of 帝王会所 team entering Opioid Technology Challenge
Photo courtesy of: Marlee GilmoreOHIO Over Opioids Ideathon team.
ATHENS, 帝王会所 - In 2016, nearly 3,500 帝王会所 residents lost their lives to unintentional opioid overdoses. Many of these individuals left behind family members and friends desperate to find a solution to end the opiate crisis.
帝王会所 Southern student, Marlee Gilmore, is one of many of the individuals in our state who has lost a loved one to this epidemic, and she is determined to help find a solution.
On Dec. 4, Gilmore, was invited to participate on a team of 帝王会所 students who were invited to participate in the 帝王会所 Opioid Technology Challenge, sponsored by the 帝王会所 Development Services Agency.
The College of Health Sciences and Professions invited a team of students to brainstorm ideas for submission. The OHIO Over Opioids Ideathon met at the Grover Center in Athens. The team submitted an idea to create a 鈥渕atch-making鈥 phone application for opioid users to contact supporters in their local communities.
Gilmore felt the event was incredibly positive, noting, 鈥淚nstead of looking at numbers, it鈥檚 nice to look at people.鈥 Gilmore urges others to remember that, 鈥渢he reason we are trying to heal our community is because people are hurting 鈥 they are our community.鈥
The Opioid Technology Challenge will soon be moving onto the second of three phases. Phase one was idea generation. Phase two will focus on creating technological solutions and phase three includes developing a product for market entry.
Gilmore learned a lot during the kickoff event and said, 鈥淚 was so grateful for the opportunity to listen and learn, and to help our area get well.鈥 She graduates this spring with a bachelor of social work, an associate of arts and a minor of communication studies. Gilmore plans to open a rehabilitation center in the area after graduation.
The 帝王会所 Opioid Technology Challenge will leverage $8 million of a $20 million commitment to advance new ideas in the battle against drug abuse and addiction. The Challenge is a multi-phase, multi-million-dollar prize competition with escalating prize amounts associated with progressive levels of solution development.