Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration called for an end to the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction and highlighted the work that has been done by the administration in response to the ongoing opioid crisis.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic is occurring, many Pennsylvanians continue to struggle with the disease of addiction,” Deputy Secretary of Health Preparedness and Community Protection and Opioid Command Center Incident Commander Ray Barishansky said. “We know that a public health pandemic at the same time as the opioid epidemic has made for a challenging year for many. It is up to all of us to come alongside those who are struggling with the disease of addiction and to offer them our support. Treatment works, and recovery is possible.”

December is typically a challenging month for many who struggle with the disease of addiction.  With the need for people to social distance and avoid gathering due to COVID-19, Pennsylvanians who have struggled with the disease of addiction may be at increased risk of relapsing this year.

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) maintains a toll-free helpline that connects callers looking for treatment options for themselves or a loved one to resources in their community. You can reach the Get Help Now helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). The helpline is available 24/7 – including on Christmas Day. An anonymous chat service offering the same information to individuals who may not be comfortable speaking on the phone is also available at www.ddap.pa.gov.

“The most important thing for people to know is that there is hope through the help that is available for Pennsylvanians struggling with substance use disorder,” said DDAP Secretary Jennifer Smith. “Even during the pandemic, Pennsylvania’s drug and alcohol treatment providers are open and operational. If people are deciding whether to take that first, brave step, there is absolutely no shame in seeking help to lead a happy, healthy life. We must end the stigma associated with substance use disorder. Ending addiction stigma means saving Pennsylvania lives.”

In September, DDAP announced the launch of Life Unites Us, an anti-stigma campaign, utilizing social media platforms to spread real-life stories of individuals and their family members battling substance use disorder, live and recorded webinars detailing tools and information necessary to effectively reduce stigma to more than 350 community-based organizations focused on SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery throughout Pennsylvania, and a web-based interactive data dashboard detailing the progress of the campaign.

In addition to Life Unites Us, the administration is calling on all Pennsylvanians to carry naloxone.

Naloxone is carried at most pharmacies across the state year-round. Naloxone is available at pharmacies to many with public and private insurance either for free or at a low cost. In addition, naloxone has also been made available through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Centralized Coordinating Entities, free public naloxone giveaways at Pennsylvania Health Centers, partnerships with Pennsylvania colleges and universities, and distribution to narcotic treatment providers throughout the commonwealth.

The Opioid Command Center, established in January 2018 when Gov. Wolf signed the first opioid disaster declaration, meets every week to discuss the opioid crisis. The command center is staffed by personnel from 17 state agencies and the Office of the Attorney General, spearheaded by the departments of Health and Drug and Alcohol Programs.

Work to address the opioid crisis focuses on three areas: prevention, rescue and treatment. Efforts over the past several years, working with state agencies, local, regional and federal officials, have resulted in significant action to address the opioid crisis:

• Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine signed an updated naloxone standing order permitting community-based organizations to provide naloxone by mail.
• The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program has reduced opioid prescriptions by 47 percent and has virtually eliminated doctor shopping.
• The number of people receiving high dosages of opioids (defined as greater than 90 morphine milligram equivalents per day) has dropped 57 percent since the PDMP launched in August 2016.
• The Opioid Data Dashboard and Data Dashboard 2.0 has provided public-facing data regarding prevention, rescue and treatment.
• 11 Pennsylvania Coordinated Medication Assisted Treatment (PacMAT) programs are serving as part of a hub-and-spoke model to provide evidence-based treatment to people where they live, with just under $26 million dedicated into the centers.
• More than 45 Centers of Excellence, administered by the Department of Human Services, provide coordinated, evidence-based treatment to people with an opioid use disorder covered by Medicaid. The COEs have treated more than 32,500 people since first launching in 2016.
• The waiver of birth certificate fees for those with opioid use disorder has helped more than 5,400 people, enabling easier entry into recovery programs.
• A standing order signed by Dr. Rachel Levine in 2018 allowed EMS to leave behind more than 2,400 doses of naloxone.
• Education has been provided to more than 7,000 prescribers through either online or face-to-face education.
• 882 drug take-back boxes help Pennsylvanians properly dispose of unwanted drugs, including 178,540 pounds of unwanted drugs in 2019. 2020 data is not yet available because of COVID.
• The Get Help Now Hotline received more than 44,000 calls, with more than half of all callers connected directly to a treatment provider.
• The state prison system has expanded their Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program, which is viewed as a model program for other states.
• A body scanner pilot project was successful in reducing overdoses and violent crime in a number of facilities. Body scanners are in place in more than 30 locations and are currently being expanded to additional facilities.
• Several agencies have worked together to collaborate on the seizure and destruction of illicit opioids across Pennsylvania.
• Education and training on opioids have been provided to schools. Future plans are in place to make opioid education a standard component of school-based training.
• The coordination with seven major commercial providers has expand access to naloxone and mental health care, while also working to make it more affordable.
• Naloxone has been made available to first responders through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency since November 2017, with more than 72,000 kits made available and more than 16,241 overdose reversals reported through the program. More than 6,600 of those saves occurred in 2019.
• EMS have administered more than 47,000 doses of naloxone and more than 10,000 doses were made available to members of the public during the state’s naloxone distribution last year.

For more information on Pennsylvania’s response to the opioid crisis visit www.pa.gov/opioids.

It’s more important than ever for everyone to do their part to help prevent the spread of illnesses like the flu. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people are getting vaccines which puts their communities at greater risk for other preventable diseases, like the flu. When people get the flu shot, it helps protect them and keeps them from spreading the flu to others.

Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected when it comes to receiving recommended vaccines, due to such factors as vaccination safety concerns and limited access to care and coverage. During National Influenza Vaccination Week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH), is highlighting vaccination disparities and reminding patients and their families that it’s not too late to get the flu vaccine.

CMS has developed new flu vaccination resources for partners, patients, providers, states, territories, tribes, and others who can share our message and help combat vaccine disparities. Please use our resources to encourage your patients to get their flu shot so they and their communities can stay healthy.

Resources

• Find vaccination resources for racial and ethnic minority patients, as well as resources for providers and partners that serve these populations at cms.gov/omhflu.
• Visit cms.gov/flu for a one-stop shop to help you find CMS’s flu vaccination information and resources.
• Looking for additional languages? Find postcards in 18 languages.
• Review our From Coverage to Care (C2C) resources to learn more about health coverage and find preventive resources.
• Visit the Beneficiary Care Management Program immunization webpage.

This communication was printed, published, or produced and disseminated at U.S. taxpayer expense.