What You Need To Know
Hackensack Meridian Health is proud to announce the appointment of a new Health Ambassador–New York Giants tight end Darren Waller. Waller will draw from his personal story to raise awareness about mental health, addiction and sobriety.
On the outside, professional football player Darren Waller seemed to have a charmed life. The charismatic Georgia native displayed athletic prowess from the time he was in middle school, through his years as a college wide receiver to when he was selected in the 2015 NFL Draft.
But on the inside, Waller struggled with self-consciousness and a feeling that he didn’t belong. Increasingly, he relied on drugs and alcohol as an escape. He kept his “double life,” as he calls it, hidden from public view as he excelled on the field in high school and college, until it began to unravel during his time in the pros with failed drug tests and suspensions.
A nearly fatal fentanyl overdose in his car in 2017 was a life-changing event for Waller, putting him on the path to recovery and sobriety, and a vow to use his story of struggle and staying sober to help others.
For Waller, Hackensack Meridian Health proved to be the ideal partner for spreading his message of hope and healing. “I am excited to partner with Hackensack Meridian Health to reduce the stigma attached to addiction and to reach people who currently may be where I was for many years–in a vicious cycle of using alcohol and drugs, and feeling lost and ashamed,” said Darren Waller. “I almost lost everything–my career, even my life. But I came out of that brush with death alive, and with a strong desire to go after a better life. I now enjoy life and am fully present for it, and my driving purpose is to help others find hope, know they are not alone, be open to talking and seeking care so that they can have a full and rewarding life, too.”
Blake is part of the Carrier Clinic, which opened in 1910 and is one of the largest mental health and addiction treatment facilities in the region. Blake Recovery Center has been providing inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment for over 40 years.
The partnership comes at a time when New Jersey is grappling with an increase in alcohol-related hospitalizations and drug overdose deaths. According to New Jersey Hospital Discharge data, the proportion of total hospitalizations with either a primary or secondary diagnosis for alcoholic liver disease increased by approximately 23 percent from 2019 to 2021.
Drug overdose death rates have increased in New Jersey from 11.3 per 100,000 in 2011 to 32.4 per 100,000 in 2021. That was a higher jump than what the nation on average saw in the same time period, when drug overdose death rates increased from 13.2 to 32.4 per 100,000 in the U.S.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2021 there were 2,672 opioid overdose deaths in New Jersey, which accounted for 87% of all drug overdose deaths in the state. Across the U.S., opioid overdose deaths accounted for 75% of all drug overdose deaths in the country in 2021.
From 2011 to 2021, the age-adjusted death rate due to opioid overdose increased from 5.1 per 100,000 to 28.6 per 100,000 in New Jersey. Over the same period, the age-adjusted death rate increased from 7.3 per 100,000 to 24.7 per 100,000 in the U.S.
The partnership with Waller will include in-person events and multimedia content and an advertising campaign to raise awareness about addiction recovery and behavioral health services. Waller, who credits such things as healthy eating, yoga, hiking, and mindfulness with keeping him sober, will also address general health and promote wellness as part of the partnership.