Each month, Catalina Island Health offers a free Community Health talk to promote health and wellness within its island community.
This month, Kathy Dollarhide and Matthew Wojcik from Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center will talk about common street drugs. Specifically, they will discuss Pink Cocaine, Ecstasy, Fentanyl, THC edibles, and the dangers of street drugs in general. They will cover what the drugs look like, how to spot the signs that someone may be using drugs, tips for what you can do to prevent a loved one from using drugs, and more. As you may be the first line of defense to teens and children, they will also demonstrate how to use Narcan.
This talk is meant for all ages. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions throughout. Free Naloxone and Fentanyl test strips will be available for all attendees.
About the presenters:
Dollarhide, RN, BSN, CEN, CEM®, is the Director of the Disaster Resource Center at Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center. She has dedicated her life to healthcare. A career emergency room nurse, certified HAZMAT instructor, safety instructor, and disaster management training, Dollarhide regularly works with nearly a dozen hospitals from Downey all the way to Catalina Island. She trains with all Long Beach Law Enforcement and Fire Departments, as well as Avalon Fire Department. She is also a safety instructor for the Long Beach Airport and the Border Protection Special Forces.
Wojcik, an EMT and Masters Candidate in Emergency Management, works directly with Dollarhide at Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach. He is the Assistant Emergency Manager and Trauma Surge Coordinator for its Disaster Resource Center. He is also a Supervising Ocean Lifeguard for the City of Huntington Beach.
Dollarhide and Wojcik work regularly with the Avalon Fire Department for EMS training. They also partnered with CIH and AFD to presented the “Stop the Bleed” workshop in Avalon last Fall.
Event Details:
CIH Community Health Talk: Street Drug Awareness
When: 6–7 pm on Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Where: Council Chambers at Avalon City Hall, 410 Avalon Canyon Road, Avalon
Refreshments and lite snacks will be provided.
Spanish translation offered.
RSVP: Visit CatalinaIslandHealth.org/health-talk-signup, email Gail Fornasiere at gfornasiere@ci-health.org, or call 310-510-0096 ext. 233.
If you are unable to attend in person, this presentation will also be live streamed on the Catalina Island Health YouTube channel and Facebook page.
CIH Community Health Talks take place monthly. A new health issue or topic is presented, usually by a guest speaker. Time for questions and discussion is also built in.
