ISHPEMING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Last September, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order to expand Michigan’s Opioid Task Force to include a representative from each district in the state.
On the board, Governor Whitmer has appointed The CEO of The Great Lakes Recovery Center, Greg Toutant. Toutant is a Negaunee native who has worked with the recovery center as CEO for over 15 years.
He says he feels fortunate to be a part the expansion of the task force to ensure a voice from The Upper Peninsula is involved when drafting new legislation.
“The things that might typically be appropriate to do in an urban area, doesn’t always transpose well for the urban parts of the states.” Toutant says, “So, we have some unique challenges, certainly, with our geography that we hope we can address with some of the initiatives through the task force.”
Toutant says that as the 10 new members of the task force step on board, they’re getting ready to assess what’s already been done before jumping in to help in their new assignments.