In middle of opioid crisis, enrollment at state’s treatment centers lagged, but is now picking up

(Harrisburg) — One of the state’s signature initiatives to address the opioid crisis initially got off to a rocky start.

But enrollment at the so-called Centers of Excellence is starting to rebound.

In the midst of an opioid crisis of unprecedented proportions, just 89 people addicted to opioids were seen at the centers in the midstate in January.

February and March’s numbers increased, but still fell short of expectations.

That was despite a concerted push by Governor Tom Wolf’s administration, which included press conferences with Gov. Wolf at three of the centers, and a proposal to increase funding for the centers.

But in April and May, more than a 1,000 people enrolled in care at the eight centers spread among the cities of Harrisburg, York and Lancaster, as well as Schuylkill and Berks counties.

The locations include: New Directions Treatment Services in Berks County, Pennsylvania Counseling Services (multiple locations), TW Ponessa in Lancaster County, Clinical Outcomes Group in Schuylkill County, Family First Health in York County, Hamilton Health Center in Dauphin County, Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster County, and Reading Hospital and Health System in Berks County.

WITF obtained the documents through a Right to Know request.

State Human Services Secretary Ted Dallas says the commonwealth may have tried to move too quickly.

“You’re implementing something new, we’re trying to get through some of the bureaucracy that has to be there in terms of getting the funding. It takes some time for folks to hire the right staff,” says Dallas.

Dallas says he expects enrollment to continue to grow – noting people who visit them are more likely to receive treatment compared to those who don’t. He says 85% of those who have enrolled at Centers of Excellence have pursued treatment, compared to 61% of the general Medicaid population.

“I think as you see the dramatic growth in the number of people being served, so I think that while some of them started off slowly, so I think we’ll be pretty close to those numbers,” he adds.

Governor Wolf has said he hopes the centers treat 11,000 people statewide in 2017.

The Centers of Excellence in the midstate have spent more than $1.6 million dollars on staffing, according to the state Department of Human Services. That includes positions like certified recovery specialists, care coordinators, case managers, and executive directors, who have also split their time between other duties at each facility.