Opening Remarks
George Hartwick, Dauphin County Commissioner
 | Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick provided opening remarks for the 2017 Central PA Addictions Conference, held at the PA Farmshow Building. Hartwick announced that the conference has a record number of participants in 2017 - accommodating 284 participants over the conference's three days. Hartwick also mentioned that since December 2016, 54 lives have been saved by police officers administrating Narcan in Dauphin County. |
Substance Abuse Across The Lives of Women Who Kill
Kathryn Whiteley, PhD, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
 | Kathryn Whiteley, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice with Messiah College, provided an overview of her research focused on Substance Abuse Across the Lives of Women Who Kill. Little is known of the women who kills. Males perpetrate 90 percent of the total homicides across westernized nations; therefore, the research focus has been on the male homicide offender. Whiteley's presentation provided an overview of women who kill. Whiteley spoke of the "universal explanations" for a women who kills, including victimization, mental illness and the discourse of bad or evil. Whiteley's presentation also included a brief discussion of the life stories of women who have perpetrated homicide and the role that substance abuse played throughout their troubled lives. |
Panel Discussion Regarding Pennsylvania's Centers of Excellence Initiative: Integrating Care, Increasing Access, Improving Treatment
Jason Snyder, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, was the moderator of the panel discussion regarding the Pennsylvania Centers of Excellence initiative. Panelists included David Kelley, Chief Medical Officer with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Office of Medical Assistance Programs; Jeannine Peterson, Chief Executive Officer with Hamilton Health Center; and Trish Young, Vice President of Outpatient Services with Pennsylvania Counseling Services. The panel discussion focused on the Center of Excellence initiative, which aims to coordinate care for people with opioid-use disorders so they stay in treatment and receive the community support they need. The panel discussed the Centers of Excellence goals of keep people engaged in continuing treatment by treating the whole person (including mental health, addiction and physical health); connecting clients with auxiliary services in the community; and expanding access to medication assisted treatment. The Centers of Excellence are charged with getting clients into the appropriate level of care as soon as possible after referral. Learn more about Pennsylvania's Centers of Excellence here.
Opioid Alternatives: A Menu Of Options For Pain
Ken Martz, PA Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs
The Opioid Alternatives: A Menu of Options for Pain workshop reviewed a range of non-opioid techniques for pain management including non-opioid medications, physical interventions (chiropractic, massage, yoga, etc.) and cognitive behavioral tools (visualization, meditation, etc.). Martz shared that 5% of heroin users started with prescription opioids. Martz also informed workshop participants of Pennsylvania's prescribing guidelines for medical providers and pain prescribing considerations. Martz spent considerable time detailing the "4 A's of Pain Treatment" which he described as: Analgesia (pain relief), adverse effects (side effects), abberant drug taking (addiction-related outcomes) and activities of daily living (psychosocial functioning). Martz reminded participants that there is no single approach for everyone, hence the "menu of options," based on the 4 A's of pain treatment. Martz encouarged participants to work toward helping clients distinguishing pain vs. suffering and distinguishing pain vs. impairment. Finally, Martz encouraged participants to consider 10 simple steps to do something "different" in assisting clients with pain management.
Dual Diagnosis Issues: Gambling, Mental Health and Other Addictions
Ken Martz, PA Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs
The Dual Diagnosis Issues: Gambling, Mental Health and Other Addictions workshop examined the common co-existing diagnoses, along with implications for gambling disorder treatment, as well as drawing parallels to other addiction and recovery processes. Martz detailed the Gamblers' Fallacy and the common thinking between gambling addicts: "It's a money problem, not a gambling problem." Martz shared with participants that gambling addictions are progressive, chronic and sometimes fatal, citing that gambling, of all disorders, has the highest rate of suicide. Martz also noted that common triggers among gambling addicts are being hungry, being angry, being lonely and being tired.
Addiction: Empowering and Restoring the Family
Joel Jakubowski, Pennsylvania Teen Challenge
The Addiction: Empowering and Restoring the Family workshop encouraged practitioners to encourage families to look at addiction as a condition that centers around the "Career Cycle" of addiction - hustling, copping, getting high, avoiding consequences, repeat! Jakubowski took participants "backstage" into his former 20 years of addiction, while using his 15 years of experience and education in recovery and practice in the field to make the workshop both relevant and riveting. Jakubowski stated that families participating in interventions with addicted loved ones should remember: "This is not an emotional rescue mission, this is a physical, life saving rescue mission. It's no longer time to make an appeal to their emotional reason, it's time to get them to treatment." Jakubowski reminded participants that it is important for families to set boundaries and make consequences - stop paying the addicted person's cell phone bill, stop bailing the addicted person out of jail and to "raise the bottom" so the addicted person hits rock bottom quicker. Jakubowski shared that the addict doesn't have to WANT to go to treatment to be immersed in and and buy into it. External motivations can bring them to treatment and then let their internal motivations be inspired. Jakubowski shared his personal journey through addiction and recovery and suggested that "an intervention is not shaming and blaming, it's a beautiful love story." In closing, Jakubowski reminded participants that families can't cause addiction, can't control addiction and can't cure addiction - the addict owns it all - not the family. Learn more about Joel Jakubowski and Pennsylvani Teen Challenge here.
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