MEDIA CONTACT: Stephany Dugan - ra-dapressoffice@pa.gov
Norristown, PA - Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones continued the agency’s statewide stakeholder engagement tour today in Montgomery 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.
“The management of the overdose crisis will take all of us working together – state and local governments and those providing the direct boots-on-the-ground responses and supports,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “To know what’s working and what’s not working in Montgomery County is vital to this effort and I’m grateful for the opportunity to hear from the voices brought to the table today.”
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.
As part of this stop, Secretary Davis-Jones met with individuals in recovery, toured DDAP-licensed recovery house Another Day Clean, and participated in recovery-centered exercises at Pottstown Athletic Club to highlight the important connection between recovery and exercise. Future tour stops will include central and southcentral Pennsylvania, Erie, and additional regions of the Commonwealth.
Secretary Davis-Jones was joined by the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Drug and Alcohol, elected officials, SUD treatment providers, recovery organizations, health care providers, and other stakeholders for a roundtable discussion on efforts to manage the overdose crisis in Montgomery County.
The county’s Office of Drug and Alcohol, which is housed under the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, is the single county authority (SCA) on drug and alcohol services in Montgomery County. It is the local authority responsible for the development and delivery of comprehensive services to county residents impacted by SUD in the areas of prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery supports.
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.
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.
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