Steve Adubato is joined by Kaitlan Baston, MD, MSc, DFASAM, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, to examine key public health issues such as vaccine awareness, preserving reproductive rights, and restoring trust in public health.

Steve Adubato talks with Baston about the opioid crisis and what the Department of Health's role is as it relates to fighting the opioid epidemic. Baston responds, "First and foremost, the CDC publishes amazing information on this, and so do we in New Jersey. It is the number one cause of death for young people still in our country. That's age 1 to 44, the number one cause of death for young people. The top three causes of death are actually overdose, suicide, and homicide nationally for people aged 1 to 44." She continues on to explain the Department of Health's efforts to increase harm reduction centers in the state, which prevent people from getting infections and aid in treating substance use disorders. Harm reduction is an evidence-based approach to health programming.