The Health and Human Services Administration made the announcement that $485,000,000 will be granted towards funding addiction recovery in America’s battle with opioids. The money will be distributed throughout the United States with Pennsylvania getting the fourth largest disbursement. 

Why Pennsylvania?

The disbursement of funds was determined by factoring which states had the most severe problems with addictions and how each state presented their proposals for the grant money. Pennsylvania health administrators were clear in stating that opioid addiction is the number one public health problem in their state.

Reports have indicated that there were more than 3,500 overdoses that led to deaths in the state of Pennsylvania in 2015. This is a 20% increase in deaths from opioids in 2014 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania, estimates this number will go up even higher in 2016 and in 2017 if left unattended. The most common problematic drug in 2015 in Pennsylvania was heroin while the next highest number of overdoses leading to death was by the prescription drug fentanyl. The Governor’s concern for his state has prompted some important initiatives to combat the epidemic. Their efforts are being substantiated by the CDC.

Opioid Crisis of Epidemic Proportions

The CDC has been watching the crisis grow in Pennsylvania. They have noted that from 2014 to 2016 a sharp rise in deaths from overdosing in Pennsylvania. The state is clearly in a crisis and has made some strides in fighting the epidemic through various programs and increasing the availability of drugs. Some of the new programs are listed below:

• Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)
• Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) 

The programs will be embedded to the already existing health care facilities and distribution networks making their implementation more streamline. As well the programs will be available to all economic sectors of Pennsylvania not just in the urban areas as was the common practice for these measures in the past. This tactical and inclusive approach was a key factor in determining Pennsylvania’s  monetary award from the Human Health Services.

A portion of the grant money will still be allocated towards dealing with the the process of “Warm handoffs”. This is the process of identifying an individual’s unique problem with addiction and then directing that individual to the appropriate treatment and recovery specialist. This method has the recommendations of doctors and is very accepted by the professionals who work in addiction recovery.