About CGAC

The Mission of the Columbia-Greene Addiction Coalition is to address addiction in our community by ensuring our residents have access to Information, Education, Treatment Options, and Recovery Supports.

A dual county initiative, the coalition is jointly chaired by
Jason Fredenberg, PsyD, Director of Community Services in Greene County, and
Michael Cole, Director of Community Services in Columbia County.

The CGAC Aims to:

Raise Awareness
about the risks associated with drug and alcohol use
Educate the Community
about prescription and illicit drug abuse and its impacts
Plan and Deliver
prevention and harm reduction programs and activities
Promote and Use Best Practices
for treating pain and addiction
Ensure There are Adequate Supports
for treatment and recovery

How CGAC Will Accomplish These:

Stimulating
information exchange and partnerships
Collecting, Analyzing and Reporting Data
about prescription and illicit drug abuse and its impact
Conducting Outreach and Educational Events
for the general public
Delivering
prevention programs to school-age children
Identifying and Supporting
policies that support access to treatment

Current Members of the CGAC Include:

Primary &Specialty HealthcareProviders
Mental HealthService Providers
Alcohol/SubstanceAbuse TreatmentProviders
Pharmacies
Dentists
Public Health/PreventionRepresentatives
HigherEducation
LawEnforcementAgencies
CriminalJusticeOrganizations
IndividualsAffected byAddiction

We aim to enlist new members by conducting targeted, often one-on-one outreach to key stakeholders, organizing public education events and creating a “speakers bureau” to present to civic organizations such as rotary clubs, firehouses, etc. Ultimately, our coalition wants to engage all sectors of our communities, and that’s where you come in! Contact Us today, to see how your community organization can help.

CGAC is Committed to Providing Education in a Multitude of Forums.

Would you like us to provide a presentation in your community?

Our History

Our organization was formed in the summer of 2013 as the “Columbia-Greene Controlled Substance Awareness Task Force”. Initiated by Columbia Memorial Hospital, our members included Columbia and Greene County Directors of Community Services, Columbia and Greene County Health Departments, Columbia and Greene County Sheriff’s Departments, NYS Police, District Attorneys for Columbia and Greene Counties, Twin County Recovery Services, Healthcare Providers, and Educators.

In June of 2018, the task force was renamed the “Columbia-Greene Addiction Coalition”.

Past activities of the coalition include:

Two education and outreach dinners.
In-classroom prevention programming coupled with a poster contest in multiple schools, in both Columbia and Greene Counties.
Safe disposal boxes for prescription medications at multiple locations in Columbia and Greene Counties.
Improved guidelines and processes for substance use contracts, urine drug screening, scales of functional pain assessments, opioid risk tools, and protocols for treating narcotics patients system-wide.
Forging positive working relationships between the health system and outside providers to ensure seamless transitions of care for shared clientele.