Senate Democrats Outline Legislation to Combat Opioid and Heroin Crisis

Harrisburg, May 18, 2016 – With drug overdose deaths reaching epidemic levels, Senate Democrats unveiled legislation today to address the opioid addiction crisis from prevention through recovery.

“Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate and there is no easy solution to fix the problem,” Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said. “When addiction finds its way into a family, it can nearly paralyze them for fear of what the future may hold.”

Recognizing the need to provide support at all levels, the Senate Democrats’ legislation focuses on providing new opportunities for education and treatment as well as expanded support options in the community for addicts, professionals and families.

“We cannot address this problem in a vacuum and must work to provide the necessary services and support to everyone involved,” Costa said. “Families are being affected and communities torn apart as a result of opioid abuses and heroin addiction.”

Opioids are a class of drug that include heroin as well as the prescription pain relievers oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl and others. According to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study, fatal drug overdoses in Pennsylvania increased 14 fold between 1979 and 2014.

“We are in the midst of the worst ever overdose death epidemic and the worst public health crisis of the last 100 years, Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs Gary Tennis said. “It will continue to take a collaborative effort among many partners to effectively address this crisis.”

 

The package of legislation includes:

Emergency Addiction Treatment Program – Charging the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs with establishing a comprehensive program that includes new addiction treatment facilities for those drug users that are currently going without care; new intake methods to provide information to those with addiction problems or their family and friends; advice and assistance in accessing treatment; and data collection to help identify patterns of addiction.

School Aged Children Opioid Awareness Education Program – Requiring the Departments of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Health, and Education to work cooperatively to design an opioid awareness education programs to be delivered in schools.

Addiction Treatment Professional Loan Forgiveness Program – Require the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) to develop an addiction treatment professional loan forgiveness program.

Opioid Addiction Prevention and Treatment Assessment – Impose a 10 percent assessment on the first sale of an opioid into the state. Revenues from the assessment will be used to support the purchase of naloxone for local law enforcement and emergency management personnel in addition to supporting addiction prevention and treatment programs.

Responding to the Senate Democratic proposals to the drug and alcohol problem, Deb Beck from the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania said that the drug and alcohol problem “has reached epidemic levels in the state and these proposals will be life saving in impact.”

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Statewide Drug Addiction Study Proposed by Schwank Ordered by PA Senate

HARRISBURG, April 4, 2016 – The Pennsylvania Senate today unanimously approved Sen. Judy Schwank’s resolution for an advisory task force to find better ways to address drug addiction and treatment.

“I believe the task force will find that Pennsylvania needs better coordination and, perhaps, a stronger commitment to drug addiction prevention, care and intervention, especially as heroin and opioid overdoses have racked so many of our communities,” Schwank said.

“We suspect more can and should be done because we read about Pennsylvanians dying from drug overdoses too many times on too many days. I’ve listened during public forums and impromptu meetings with constituents who say treatment programs should have the resources to provide more beds for care or they should be able to act quicker and with more focus.

“I look forward to the advisory panel’s work and final report to help stop this growing problem, and I thank the Senate for its understanding and support to make this happen. Treatment works.”

The special panel proposed in Schwank’s Senate Resolution 267 would complete an inventory of the locations and types of drug treatment programs and determine if there is a need for additional help or better coordination.

It would also determine the ease and availability of access by Pennsylvania residents to effective treatment; examine the prevalence and practical impact of using private or public funding or health insurance coverage to pay for treatment; decide how to better help consumers determine the effectiveness and value of different types of treatment and programs, and propose how to nurture promising emerging types of treatment and best practices.

The task force will work under the supervision of the Joint State Government Commission – a bipartisan, bicameral research agency – and have 18 months to deliver its report and recommendations.

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Follow Sen. Schwank on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Contact: Mark Shade

Phone:   (717) 787-5166

mshade@pasenate.com

Schwank’s Proposal to Find Effective Ways to Deal with Drug Addiction Clears 1st Hurdle

HARRISBURG, March 16, 2016 – The state Senate Health and Welfare Committee today unanimously approved a proposal by state Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) calling for a broad study of addiction treatment concerns in Pennsylvania.

The proposal now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

“The sharp increases in heroin and opioid abuse in recent years here and across the country have really revealed the great need for a more coordinated understanding of and approach to dealing with addiction,” Schwank said following the committee’s approval. “Our work to fight this growing crisis has been earnest, but it remains too fragmented.

“Having a task force focus on the problem will allow us to identify necessary changes that we hope can make a huge difference for the many families who are facing the impact  and challenges of  addiction.”

Under Schwank’s resolution, SR 267, which has broad bi-partisan support of a majority of the Senate,  the task force would be created under the Joint State Government Commission, which is a research agency of the General Assembly.

The task force would:

  • Count the locations and types of treatment programs
  • Assess the need for additional treatment resources
  • Determine the ease and availability of access by Pennsylvania residents to effective treatment
  • Examine the prevalence and practical impact of using private or public funding or health insurance coverage to pay for treatment
  • Decide how to better help consumers determine the effectiveness and value of different types of treatment and programs, and
  • Propose how to nurture promising emerging types of treatment and best practices.

Representatives from the departments of Corrections, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Education, Health, Human Services, Insurance, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, hospitals, treatment providers, medical professionals, recovering former users, family members of users, and other appropriate groups will serve on the task force.

The advisory task force would be required to deliver its report within 18 months.

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Follow Sen. Schwank on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

 

Schwank ‘Encouraged’ by New Report’s Next Steps on Heroin, Opioid Epidemic

HARRISBURG, Sept. 23, 2014 – Urged by state Sen. Judy Schwank to examine the growing problem of heroin and prescription drug abuse, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania canvassed the state and issued its report today.

Sen. Schwank said she worked with Sen. Gene Yaw, the center’s chairman of the board, to study the problem following a spate of heroin and prescription drug-related overdoses and deaths in Topton, Berks County.

As the center released its report today at the Capitol, Schwank said she is “encouraged” by their work and how Pennsylvanians will benefit.

“There is recognition now that this very serious problem is something that can be dealt with in the commonwealth. And I look forward to being a part of it,” Schwank said during the Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s press conference. “I look forward to seeing what we will accomplish as a legislature and as a commonwealth to help target this problem.

“This is our blueprint. This is where we go from here, not only to make sure we pass the legislation that’s sitting before us right now, but to think about what we have to do in the future and focus on that.

“Legislation isn’t going to be the silver bullet. We need to ensure that our community members are educated; our youth, certainly, are educated; and our medical community understands the problem. It takes all of us, including law enforcement and our judiciary, to work together to resolve this.”

Schwank said she went to work on the heroin epidemic after 5 Topton residents died this past spring.

After first organizing a town hall meeting that attracted more than 10 times the people she expected to attend, Schwank said she looked across the commonwealth and approached Sen. Yaw.

Parents, families and communities were hurting, and continue to hurt, she said.

“You have to look into the face of an anguished parent to understand what they’re dealing with. And, there are so many of them out there,” Schwank said. “I don’t use the words epidemic or crisis lightly. But in the case of heroin abuse and opioid drug abuse, I believe those words are the words we should be using. That’s how serious this problem is.

“We applaud the Center for Rural Pennsylvania for focusing specifically on the issue in rural Pennsylvania. We know that this is an issue in our urban and suburban areas as well.”

Schwank recognized Reading Hospital’s chief of emergency medicine, Dr. Charles Barbera, for his role in helping to guide the response to the epidemic.

“He has been a wonderful advocate for us on this issue and has helped to guide us in some of our efforts in Berks County,” Schwank said.

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More information on Sen. Schwank is available on her website, Facebook and Twitter.