WHO GOT TO WHOM? –

July 27, 2021 – The deficiencies cited in the inspections of the state’s roughly 800 licensed treatment centers actually are violations of state regulations. They come in a wide variety of areas that include “client rights” and “confidentiality” and “fire safety.” Comparing numbers of code violations center-to-center could be vitally important, as the state struggles with a surging drug crisis. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said overdose deaths in Pennsylvania jumped to 5,172 last year from 4,444 in 2019, an increase of 16%.

Many families have spent tens of thousands of dollars on treatment. In some cases, loved one have relapsed or died afterwards.

Nancy Howe of Coopersburg, who lost a daughter to a heroin overdose and has facilitated a group of similarly grieving parents who sometimes have other addicted children in treatment, also scrutinized the comparison tool.

If she were seeking help, she said, “It would be completely useless. I wouldn’t have confidence in it at all.”

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