Originally published in the Reading Eagle

Written by Mike Urban

West Reading, PA — Although the death toll caused by opioid overdoses in Pennsylvania has dipped slightly in the last year, addiction to those drugs remains the state's top health and public safety crisis.

So said state Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Tuesday at Reading Hospital, where he and U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan led a roundtable discussion on the epidemic.

The two heard from a number of health care professionals from Tower Health and Berks Counseling Center, who spoke about programs that are making a difference locally.

The Center for Excellence program that began at Tower Health in 2017 has helped more than 700 patients with substance abuse problems, said Dr. Mark Woodland, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In the past, many of those patients would have fallen through the cracks, including a number of young mothers, but they are now getting the help they need, he said.

Those patients get a “warm handoff” from the emergency room, maternity ward or other departments to treatment or other services. They are also provided with a case manager who gives them guidance with things like child care, rent and employment, helping ensure they continue their treatment, said Desha Dickson, Reading Hospital associate vice president for community wellness.
That program has been funded by a three-year state grant that expires this year, but insurance providers have agreed to continue paying for those case managers, as they see the value they provide in preventing relapses, Dickson said.

Berks Counseling Center Clinical Supervisor Bonnie Triebig spoke of that facility's Community Reinforcement and Family Training program, which helps the loved ones of those struggling with addiction.

The program, funded by the Berks Council on Chemical Abuse, helps those who must often walk a fine line between enabling or cutting off their loved ones, and who can be key to convincing them to enter treatment, Triebig said.

“We tell them, 'This is how you can support them,' ” she said.

Opioid Workforce Act

Houlahan, a Chester County Democrat who represents southern Berks, spoke of her support for two U.S. House bills she said would help hospitals and communities prevent substance abuse and respond to opioid overdoses.

The Opioid Workforce Act would create 1,000 additional residency positions over five years to hospitals with addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry or pain management programs.

The State Opioid Response Grant Authorization Act would provide $5 billion over five years in federal grants to states to provide additional treatment beds, train and hire health care providers and support prevention campaigns.

The success of Tower Health's Center for Excellence program shows the difference that grant money can make in helping the community, she said.

“The federal government needs to step up with additional resources,” she said.

The roundtable was one of several events in Berks for Houlahan on Tuesday, as she also awarded pins to local Vietnam War veterans, led a town hall meeting, and held an open house at her office in Reading City Hall.

Shapiro said an average of 12 Pennsylvanians die each day from drug overdoses, down from last year's average of 15 per day, a decrease partly due to the increased availability of the overdose reversal drug naloxone.

There are still far too many being hurt, though, meaning there is a lot more work to do, he said.

According to the latest figures available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 5,388 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2017, the highest figure in the nation.

In Berks there were 85 drug deaths during 2018, including five classified as suicides, according to the Berks coroner's office.
But among the things Shapiro said are being done right in Berks is the focus on families hurt by addiction, as 1 in 3 Pennsylvanians either has addiction issue or has a family member with those struggles.

The collaboration between public and private entities that exists in Berks is also crucial, as is the philosophy that those who overdose aren't criminals, but have a disease, he said.

Woodland said he'd like to see that view of addiction become more prevalent among law enforcement so that those with substance abuse problems run to the police for help instead of away from them as they fear arrest.

While enforcement of the laws is needed, so is a way to steer more people toward treatment, he said.