Cardiothoracic surgeon/TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz hosted his first ever “National Night of Conversation” at West New York’s Memorial High School to provide a crash course in drug education and awareness.Â
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Inside a packed auditorium that seated at least a few hundred people, Superintendent of Schools Clara Brito Herrera and Mayor Felix Roque welcomed Dr. Oz and his staff to the venue before he took the podium.
Dr. Phil Blanc, the Vice President of Research and Health Science Communication for Health Corps – a health organization Dr. Oz started that Memorial High School has partnered with – went through slides of statistics with the audience regarding addiction.
Additionally, Dr. Michael Crupain, the medical director for the Dr. Oz show, and Oz gave the audience a hands-on look at the effects drugs have on the body. Dr. Oz also took live questions from the crowd, exclaiming that the last one “changed his life.”
A woman who identified herself as “Estella” said that since some West New York families have to deal with the fear of deportation, kids often have nowhere to turn in the schools.
On that note, Principal Scott Wohlrab said the high school has two substance abuse counselors who are available to speak with students and teachers with complete confidentiality.
Hudson County View had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Oz one-on-one prior to the start of the program.
