NEPA Vital Signs - Summer Fall 2017 - 18

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ADDICTION:

The Disease,
The Destruction,
The Lifestyle,
The Light
Helping our patients and community
navigate the opioid epidemic

e all have vices. For some, it is alcohol, for others, caffeine, but many in our community are facing a stark,
deadly reality. Each day, 78 people in our country die
from an opioid related overdose.1 In all of their forms, opioids
pack catastrophic potential. Painkiller prescribing habits and the
prevalence and low-cost of street heroin have fueled a perfect
storm of accessibility. The availability of these powerful drugs
has changed the face of the epidemic. What began in the 1990s
as a crisis that affected the economically disadvantaged, out of
work minority populations has turned into an epidemic that
knows no boundaries and does not discriminate. Opiates have a
way of finding us; from our siblings, to our colleagues, from our
children, to our friends and all who fall in-between.

Northeastern Pennsylvania organizations: Habit OPCO, Miners
Medical, Clean Slate Centers and The Wright Center.
The COE designation affirms the Commonwealth's investment
in ending opioid use disorders. The funding allows designees
including ours to expand their resources and teams to include
various treatments, specialists and partners. Through the COE
designation, we have been able to hire a team of Case Managers,
Certified Peer Recovery Specialists, Behavioral Health Therapists
and support staff who are personally committed to ending the
opioid epidemic. Our staff draw from a deep pool of personal and
professional experiences to tailor plans for each of our patients.
As a COE designee, we are entrusted with the responsibility of
caring for one of our region's most at-risk populations. We have
watched the cycle of addiction weasel its way into the lives of our
friends, family and loved ones and understand that the first step
towards recovery is the most difficult one to make.

Undoing the web of damage caused by
intemperate prescribing habits and disparate
electronic medical records systems is a decadeslong process that we have only just begun; our
patients do not have that long to wait.

Addiction is a lifelong disease that makes recovery a lifelong
commitment. Through whole-patient care, our team works to
ensure that each patient has the tools that they need to reroute
the energy of addiction to behaviors that will help them stay well.

Until late, the path to recovery has been long and difficult
to navigate. Those who are facing addiction and their support
networks have been faced with skyrocketing costs and waiting
lists in the fight to access healthcare, making recovery nearly
inconceivable.

We realize that success in beating addiction is far more than
physically staying clean. Unlike a traditional rehab facility which
is a short term solution for most, a Center of Excellence helps
those in recovery reshape their lifestyle from the comfort of
their own community. Getting clean is an ongoing process that
begins with ridding toxins from the body; staying clean requires
us to rid them from our lifestyle altogether.

Led by our Governor, Tom Wolf, and The Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, we are better equipped than ever to flip the script
on the opioid crisis thanks to the Opioid Use Disorder Center of
Excellence (COE) initiative. This designation has been awarded
to 45 organizations across The Commonwealth including four
1 CDC National Vital Statistics System
N E PA

VITAL SIGNS

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEPA Vital Signs - Summer Fall 2017