Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Woman pleads guilty in KOP Mall kidnapping
A Chester County woman has entered a guilty plea in the kidnapping of a tot from the King of Prussia Mall.
WEST CHESTER >> Watching Chester County residents run through colored dust on a chilly morning last fall paid off for county health providers this week, as members of the group fighting the opioid and heroin crisis in the county presented checks to help cover costs of the program to help those recovering from accidental overdoses.
On Tuesday, the county commissioners, along with District Attorney Tom Hogan and members of the Chester County Overdose Prevention Task Force, presented checks for $5,000 to representatives from all five of the county’s hospitals. The funds are earmarked to support each hospital’s “Warm Hand-Off” program, which helps those who have experienced an overdose get referrals directly to treatment and counseling, thus putting them on a path to physical, mental and emotional healing.
The “hand-off” was dramatized at the commissioners’ meeting before the check presentation by Hogan and Vince Brown, executive direcor of the county’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Services. Hogan showed how overdose patients are treated, and then given the opportunity to begin rehabilitation straight from the hospital rather than discharged into an uncertain future.
Said Hogan: “Our police administer Narcan to a person who is overdosing, literally saving a life. Our hospitals then treat and stabilize those who have overdosed. But too often, addicts just want to walk out of the hospital and go back to the drugs that almost killed them.
“The warm hand-off protocol is a way to have the hospitals, volunteers, and county agencies work together to gently re-direct those who have just been saved and get them into rehab and counseling,” the DA said. “We want to fix this problem, not one save at a time, but permanently.”
The presentation of funds was led by commissioners Chairwoman Michelle Kichline, who had spearheaded the response to the opioid crisis in the county.
“This crisis is serious and it’s not going away,” said Kichline in her remarks. “It’s not enough to attack this problem from a law enforcement standpoint, but also through education, counseling and collaboration with hospitals and community organizations. The use of Narcan saves lives, but if you aren’t able to give addicts the tools to recover – the warm hand-off to the right treatment and counseling – then this disease will not be stopped.”
In the eyes of the county officials, the Overdose Prevention Task Force serves as a model for all of Pennsylvania in the fight against opioid and heroin addiction. The task force approach includes the arrest and prosecution of drug dealers, diverting addicts into treatment and counseling through Drug Court, educating children and their parents through the Narcotics Overdose Prevention and Education (NOPE) program, taking drugs off the streets through the drop box initiative, working with doctors and health care providers on opioid prescribing practices – and now, the warm hand-off program with hospitals.
Last November in West Chester, the Chester County’s Color 5K was held to raise awareness of the crisis and the county’s work towards combatting it, as well as to raise funds for the “Warm Hand-Off” program. More than 770 people of all ages participated in the event, which, together with generous sponsorships, raised $25,000. The second Color 5K is scheduled for Nov. 4.
Commissioner Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone said: “I have often said that there is nothing wrong in Chester County that can’t be fixed by what is right in Chester County and this is a perfect example of the good things we can do when we work together. I know that we won’t ‘cure’ addiction forever by our actions, but by working together in this way we can and will make a significant dent in the level of the crisis here in the county.”
Added Commissioner Terence Farrell,“I recently attended our National Association of Counties meeting in Washington DC, and thousands of county officials from across the nation filled a large room to talk about the opioid and heroin crisis. What was evident in that seminar was that people were commenting on the reasons for the problem, could cite examples – often personal – and note the growth of the crisis.
“The warm hand-off protocol is a way to have the hospitals, volunteers, and county agencies work together to gently re-direct those who have just been saved and get them into rehab and counseling,” the DA said. “We want to fix this problem, not one save at a time, but permanently.” — District Attorney Tom Hogan