2026 Kentucky Overdose Prevention Summit Sees Record Attendance
Over 400 public health professionals, peer support specialists, community organizations, first responders, researchers and recovery advocates gathered in Louisville this summer for the 2026 Kentucky Overdose Prevention Summit, the largest in-person summit in the event's history. The annual event serves as a statewide forum for sharing evidence-based strategies, strengthening partnerships, and equipping professionals working to prevent drug overdose deaths and support recovery across Kentucky.
This year's summit featured the largest number of educational opportunities to date, with 48 speakers and 50 exhibitors offering attendees opportunities to learn about innovative approaches to prevention, treatment, recovery support and community engagement. For the first time, presentations were selected through a formal abstract submission process, resulting in a broader range of speakers, disciplines, and topics.
Throughout the two-day event, attendees explored topics spanning drug overdose prevention, substance use disorder treatment, recovery support, maternal health, workforce development, community engagement, and sustainable funding. Specific presentations ranged from grant writing and financial literacy training to current drug trends, suicide prevention, overdose fatality review teams, professional development for care navigators, and the use of data and community partnerships to strengthen local overdose prevention efforts.
The expanded program reflected the evolving needs of communities across the Commonwealth while highlighting successful models that can be adapted and implemented statewide.
During the summit, Dr. Terry Bunn, principal investigator of the Overdose Data to Action grant at the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) and recently retired KIPRC director, was recognized as the winner of Social Change Advocate Award. The award honors individuals whose leadership, collaboration, and commitment to evidence-based practice have advanced overdose prevention efforts and created meaningful, lasting change for Kentucky communities. Bunn was instrumental in bringing awareness of the drug crisis in Kentucky to state and local public health officials and in creating FindHelpNow.org, a substance use disorder treatment, mental health treatment, and recovery housing locator designed to quickly connect individuals to facilities and providers with available openings.
The summit also introduced new opportunities for participants to connect beyond traditional presentations. A speed mentoring event encouraged created opportunities for participants to build new collaborations and mentoring relationships across agencies while engaging in conversations about career development, leadership, and pathways for professional advancement. Additional discussions focused on expanding opportunities for peer support specialists and creating educational pathways into behavioral health and social work professions.
Educational sessions accredited through UK HealthCare CECentral offer continuing education for physicians, peer support specialists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, drug and alcohol counselors, community health workers, health education specialists, and emergency medical technicians. Endured sessions will be located on CECentral. The Kentucky Overdose Prevention Summit is coordinated and organized by the Kentucky Department for Public Health, with funding and staff support provided by KIPRC through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Overdose Data to Action cooperative agreement. Additional support was provided by the Kentucky Department for Public Health Workforce Development Branch.
Planning for the 2027 Kentucky Overdose Prevention Summit is already underway. KIPRC and the Overdose Prevention Advisory Workgroup and Summit Planning Committee are reviewing feedback from attendees, exhibitors and presenters to ensure future Summits continue evolving alongside emerging evidence while remaining grounded in the real-world experience of Kentucky care navigators, peer support specialists and community overdose prevention.
KIPRC, a unique partnership between the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) and the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, serves both as an academic injury prevention research center and as the DPH’s designee or “bona fide agent” for statewide injury prevention and control, focusing on injury prevention translation and practice.
The Overdose Prevention Summit is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of cooperative agreement NU17CE010186 totaling $5,407,419 with 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC, HHS, or the U.S. government. For more information, please visit CDC.gov.