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Huneycutt chosen to head HopeRx

HopeRx, the communitywide initiative to fight prescription drug abuse, has hired Julie Huneycutt to serve as its director.


HopeRx also announced that former Henderson County Public Health Director Tom Bridges has directed retirement gifts made in his honor to the project.
JulieHuneycutt rgbHuneycutt

Huneycutt joins HopeRx with experience as a development director for three area nonprofits. She frequently speaks to groups about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and is co-founder of Anna's Hope, a fund dedicated to raising awareness about prescription drug abuse.
A member of the Hendersonville Rotary Club, she has been nominated to serve as club president in 2015.
Sheriff Charles McDonald said "emergency personnel are now responding to 7-10 overdoses a week, with results of three to four deaths a month in Henderson County. A majority of those overdose deaths are linked directly to prescription drugs."
HopeRx also announced that it had postponed its next communitywide event, originally scheduled March 21, until the fall. A new date will be announced soon, Huneycutt said.
Huneycutt and her husband, Don, both serve on the HopeRx Steering Committee, which was created by the Partnership for Health, a community coalition that addresses critical health issues in Henderson County. Four years ago, the Huneycutts lost their daughter Anna to a prescription drug overdose.
"My hope is that other families will never experience the heartache and pain our family has experienced," she said. "We all have a valuable part in making sure we spread the net far and wide to help others avoid getting caught up in addiction and substance abuse."
Health leader creates 'Tom's Bridge'
Tom Bridges, the former director of the Henderson County Health Department who retired at the end of 2013, designated retirement gifts made to a special fund at the Community Foundation of Henderson County — Tom's Bridge to the Community — to help fund HopeRx. The Free Clinics of Henderson County is serving as the fiscal agent for HopeRx.
"The prescription drug abuse issue affects all sectors in Henderson County; all peoples, all groups, and all needs," he said. "It has woven itself into the fabric of our community. I feel the proceeds from this fund will make the greatest impact by helping to mobilize HopeRx."
The HopeRx Steering Committee expressed gratitude for Bridges' gift and asked the community to support HopeRx with donations to the Tom's Bridge fund.
HopeRx is designed to unite community leaders, parents, educators, students, healthcare providers, EMS workers and volunteers, law enforcement, the judicial system, civic organizations and faith groups throughout Henderson County to work collaboratively to address the issues of prescription drug abuse, one of the top three health problems in our county. Members of the Partnership for Health and HopeRx Steering Committee include representatives from BRCC, Blue Ridge Community Health Services, the Free Clinics, Henderson County Health Department, Mainstay, Pardee Hospital/UNC Health Care, Park Ridge Health and Wingate University Hendersonville Campus School of Pharmacy.
To learn more, volunteer or make a contribution to HopeRx, please contact Julie Huneycutt at hoperxhc@gmail.com or 828 606-4586. Contributions can be mailed to Community Foundation of Henderson County, PO Box 1108, Hendersonville, NC 28793, designate the donation to Tom's Bridge to the Community for HopeRx. Contributions can also be made online at www.CFHCforever.org, Give Now, Search Family of Funds, Fund ID BRDG, description HopeRx.