Wilkes-Barre, PA - Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones continued the agency’s statewide stakeholder engagement tour today in Luzerne County to hear top issues and concerns surrounding the opioid and overdose crises. DDAP’s goal is to gather feedback that will help craft the agency’s plan for increased community and treatment provider engagement while also gaining stakeholder insight to assist the agency’s work on regulatory reform.
“This is our seventh stop and we’re learning more and more from direct service providers and other responders with each stop we make about what’s working, what’s not working, and how the state can better help,” said Secretary Davis-Jones. “This engagement tour is a sign of the Shapiro Administration’s all-hands-on-deck, multidisciplinary approach of managing the overdose and opioid public health crises and how the state can minimize burdens for those who provide direct supports.”
Secretary Davis-Jones was joined by the Luzerne/Wyoming Counties Drug and Alcohol Program, SUD treatment providers, recovery organizations, and other stakeholders for a roundtable discussion on efforts to manage the overdose crisis in Luzerne County.
The county’s drug and alcohol office is the Single County Authority (SCA) for drug and alcohol services in Luzerne and Wyoming counties. The SCA is responsible for planning, designing, and implementing a comprehensive array of services covering the full continuum of care to the residents of both Luzerne and Wyoming counties in the areas of prevention, intervention, treatment, and treatment-related services.
DDAP is prioritizing gaining stakeholder insight to assist the agency with its regulatory reform initiative. Specifically, the agency’s objectives for the regulatory reform initiative include:
· Organizing regulations in a way that makes sense for both providers and patients reading them;
· Updating terminology to use current and consistent terms using plain language while avoiding stigmatizing language; and
· Ensuring regulations are specifically focused and designed to promote client safety, quality care, and positive outcomes and elevate the patient experience.
The goals of DDAP’s engagement tour align with Governor Josh Shapiro’s Executive Order signed last week to establish the Pennsylvania Behavioral Health Council, which will bring together state leaders, local governments, and community providers to develop and recommend to the Governor the implementation of a statewide action plan that addresses how to deliver timely and quality mental health and addiction care services, in a culturally relevant, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented manner, through an evidence-based behavioral delivery system.
As part of this stop, Secretary Davis-Jones visited Children’s Services Center’s Robinson Counseling Center (CSC-Robinson) and Conyngham Health Center, which provide a holistic approach to treating substance use disorder (SUD), mental health, and physical health with a “one-stop shop” service model. During the tour, CSC-Robinson highlighted their behavioral health treatment programs, physical health center, on-site pharmacy and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) clinic.
Secretary Davis-Jones also participated in a recovery-centered activity at New Roots Recovery Center, which is designed to provide hope and support to individuals with SUD and their families, and to facilitate the journey towards a healthier life through meaningful relationships and community engagement.
DDAP recently awarded nearly $500,000 to organizations serving Luzerne County that will help to establish a regional recovery hub to enhance resources for individuals in recovery and promote recovery within Luzerne County and the surrounding region.
Stakeholders of the tour include individuals in recovery and those with lived experience, service providers, active service recipients, community leaders, schools, corrections units, and more. The tour will seek to reach communities and voices less frequently heard. Future tour stops will include Dauphin County, Mercer County, and additional regions of the Commonwealth.
Throughout the remainder of the tour, DDAP will seek to engage stakeholders on SUD issues related to:
· regulations and reform efforts
· data requirements and modernization needs
· health equity work and advancement
· treatment slot management
· improving departmental communications.
Learn more about the Shapiro Administration’s efforts in combating the overdose crisis at pa.gov/opioids.
MEDIA CONTACT: Stephany Dugan - ra-dapressoffice@pa.gov
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