By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A panel of experts will gather at Alabaster’s Shelby Baptist Medical Center in early December as they look to address the nationwide opioid epidemic as it relates to Shelby County communities.

The roundtable discussion will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 4, from 5-7 p.m. in rooms B and C in the hospital’s Physicians Center. The event is free, and dinner will be provided.

“Our panel of experts will convene to address the epidemic sweeping our nation, how it’s affecting our community and what we can do to mitigate it,” read a flyer for the event. “We encourage community members, including parents and families, to join us for this two-hour open discussion.”

The expert panel will include the following people:

-Lameshia Agee Chambers, market director of the Behavioral Health Service Line with Brookwood Baptist Health

-Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon

-A representative from Bradford Health Services

-Dr. Paul Larussa, a psychiatrist with Alabama Psychiatry

-Alabaster Fire Chief Tim Love

-Kathryn Crouthers, chief operating officer of Chilton Shelby Mental Health Center

-Shelby County Probate Judge Allison Boyd

To register for the event, visit Brookwoodbaptisthealth.com/opioidevent or call (833) 569-3588.