Overdose: Inside the Epidemic, a Second Opinion special

Pictured (L-R):  Joe and Mary Mullin and Dr. Lisa Harris

Credit: Nic Minetor

Mary and Joe Mullin courageously share their son's story of opioid and heroin addiction.

According to state and local health departments, the number of deaths related to opioid and heroin use is on the rise in Monroe County. To shed light on what law enforcement and health care providers are calling an “epidemic”, Second Opinion presents Overdose: Inside the Epidemic, airing Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 5 p.m. on WXXI-TV. The hour-long special features Mary and Joe Mullin of Irondequoit, New York, whose son struggled with drug abuse, opioid use, and heroin addiction. Patrick Mullin eventually died from a heroin overdose. Just eight weeks after Patrick’s death, Mary and Joe courageously share their story – telling their vivid personal experience of Patrick’s decline from alcohol and marijuana use, into opioid and heroin addiction.

The Mullins and Second Opinion host Dr. Peter Salgo are joined by experts Louis E. Baxter, Sr., MD, President and CEO of the Professional Assistance Program of New Jersey, Inc. and Lisa Y. Harris, MD, Chief Physician Informaticist at Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, and former Senior VP and Chief Clinical Officer at Lourdes. The show also feature’s Patrick Seche, MS, addiction specialist from the University of Rochester Medical Center. In front of a live studio audience, they discuss this drug epidemic, offer advice on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of drug abuse, and share cutting-edge information on prevention and effective treatment. 

This Second Opinion presentation is part of New York's Opioid Crisis, a week-long programming collaboration between WXXI and PBS stations across New York State designed to raise awareness about the opioids crisis and share information and resources with the public. New York's Opioid Crisis runs Monday, October 15 through Sunday, October 21.