Harrisburg, PA - Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones continued the agency’s statewide stakeholder engagement tour today in Dauphin 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 Shapiro Administration knows it’s going to take all of us to manage the overdose and opioid public health crises – federal, state and county partners working in tandem,” said Secretary Davis-Jones. “Today’s stops are a look into how Dauphin County is addressing the needs of residents and priority populations at the local level and about hearing firsthand from direct services providers how the state can complement their efforts.”
As part of this stop, Secretary Davis-Jones visited the Hamilton Health Center, a multicultural, multilingual, family-friendly, community health care center in Harrisburg that provides medical, dental, and behavioral primary health care services to individuals, regardless of their income status, language or ethnicity. During the visit, Secretary Davis-Jones met with leadership staff and a participant of the center’s Baby Love program, which is a free program to support women with an SUD who are pregnant or have a child under the age of five.
Secretary Davis-Jones was joined by the Dauphin County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers, recovery organizations, and other stakeholders for a roundtable discussion on efforts to manage the overdose crisis in Dauphin County.
The county’s drug and alcohol office is the Single County Authority (SCA) for drug and alcohol services in Dauphin County. The SCA’s mission is to serve those affected with SUD by providing high quality prevention, intervention, treatment services and recovery supports in Dauphin County.
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 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.
Secretary Davis-Jones also visited the Dauphin County Judicial Center to learn more about the county’s diversionary services, including a drug court program which strives to provide SUD treatment rather than incarceration.
DDAP recently awarded more than $1 million to organizations serving Dauphin County that will help to:
· establish or expand SUD services, community outreach and education to underrepresented communities struggling with the opioid overdose crisis;
· establish a regional recovery hub to enhance resources for individuals in recovery and promote recovery within Dauphin 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 Mercer County and Philadelphia.
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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