Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Lawmakers seeking solution to opioid crisis
WEST WHITELAND » A panel of experts assembled by state Rep. Kristine Howard, D-167th, of Malvern, and Policy Committee Chairman, state Rep. Mike Sturla, D-96th, of Lancaster agreed, Monday, that the ongoing opioid crisis requires more recovery time for users, which in turn costs more cash.
“The length of stay is critical,” Vincent H. Brown , executive director, Chester County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services said at the West Whiteland Township Building. “Sometimes it takes months or years for your brain it repair itself.”
Detoxification, rehabilitation, a halfway house stay and recovery time are all important to solving the opioid epidemic.
Karen Archambo, clinical su
pervisor, Mirmont Outpatient Center- Exton, said that insurance companies need to fund more and even such treatments as acupuncture can’t be ignored.
She said she knows of no other disease that patients are allowed just 30 days treatment. She compared the lack of treatment to the bevy of treatment a diabetic receives.
Howard worked as a child welfare advocate.
“I have hosted two policy hearings since taking office – one on the state of foster care in Pennsylvania, and yesterday’s on the opioid epidemic,” Howard said. “These hearings gave me the opportunity to introduce my colleagues in the Legislature to devastating issues I dealt with throughout my career as a child welfare advocate.
“I have seen firsthand how opioids and other dangerous drugs rip families apart and destroy lives, even in the more affluent Mainline communities of Chester County. I have been on the front lines of this fight for years, and am grateful to have been able to bring together major stakeholders in one place to discuss this tragedy and move toward solutions. We can and we must end this epidemic.”
Nathan Schenker, first assistant public defender, Chester County, said the criminal justice system is probably “not the best place” to deal with drug and alcohol abuse.
While Howard said that opioid abuse is one of the greatest public health crisis’ we’ve seen, Schenker said that Chester County was one of the first counties in the state to institute a drug court.
The court system moves quickly with offenders, often in a couple of days, to place first-time offenders into “shock incarceration” or for a weekend in jail – with no criminal charges. A second offense might mean a five-day jail stay.
“They don’t lose their job and they don’t lose the house,” Schenker said. On a case by case basis, dealers are sometimes dealt with more strictly.
High school dropout Eric Tankel is a therapist and former person with an addiction, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He said he came from a family of privilege.
“It is really difficult to apply a reason to an irrational disease,” he said.
He also said that an Oxycontin pill on the street runs $40 and a baggie of heroin costs $10. It’s not a stretch to understand where the user goes for a fix.
Eric’s mother, Liz Tankel, mortgaged the family home to pay for treatment.
“Long-term care needs to be available to everyone,” she said. “It was worth every penny.”
Like Howard, Ginny Kerslake is a Democratic candidate for state representative in the 167th District.
“We need to take real action on this epidemic,” Kerslake said. “The two greatest obstacle to getting well for someone suffering from addiction are having the will and having treatment coverage.
“We need legislation to require health insurance to cover addiction and mental illness just as they do other medical conditions. We need to ensure that everyone who has the will also has access to the continuum of quality care and support necessary to achieve long-term recovery.”