More treatment centers opening for people addicted to opioids

(Harrisburg) — Pennsylvania is making more treatment available for people dealing with addiction to heroin or other opioids.

So-called Centers of Excellence have started to open, and more are expected to start operating in January.

The centers are located at clinics that are already running in the midstate – from TW Ponessa in Lancaster to Pennsylvania Counseling Services in York and Dauphin counties.

A full list of locations is here.

At each center, staff will work with patients to get them into treatment.

But the state says that’s only one of the goals.

Jason Snyder with the state Department of Human Services says they’ll also help people transition from one phase to another.

“We’re going to have individuals on that care management team really essentially wrap themselves around the patient, if you will. Knowing when that patient is coming out of one level of care, and being there to warmly hand-off, if you will, that individual to the next level of care,” says Snyder.

Snyder says in 2014, more than two-thirds of Medicaid patients only went to the first stage of treatment – detox.

He expects the Centers of Excellence will help change that statistic, and get more people into recovery.

“That continuum of care is very important for someone seeking recovery from the disease of addiction. In fact we know length of stay in the continuum of care is directly correlated with recovery from the disease,” adds Snyder.

He says by having dedicated caseworkers, people will be more motivated to continue their treatment.