Minneapolis's Response to the Opioid Epidemic

Heidi Ritchie will speak about the efforts the City of Minneapolis is making to address the opioid epidemic.  

Heidi is the Deputy Health Commissioner for the City of Minneapolis Health Department. The divisions that she oversees include the City’s Opioid Response, School-Based Clinics, Maternal & Child Health, Adolescent & Reproductive Health, Epidemiology, Research, & Evaluation, Emergency Preparedness, Policy and Health Communities (chronic disease and food security), as well as overseeing Business Improvement and Operations.

Prior to her appointment to this permanent position in March 2023, she was appointed to serve as the Interim Health Commissioner on January 1, 2022. While Heidi was new to the Minneapolis Health Department, she was not new to the City nor to the health profession. She is a Public Health Certified Registered Nurse (RN and PHN) and has worked in the City of Minneapolis for nearly 18 years, most recently as Policy and Budget Director in the Mayor’s office, where she has helped shape health policy and the City’s response to the pandemic and opioid epidemic. Heidi has been a leading voice throughout the city enterprise in the development and advocacy of policies on public health, environmental health, behavioral and mental health, and youth and adolescent health.