I just wanted to share my first opinion piece for STAT News that was published this morning.
” few Americans get anywhere near 90 days of care. Within the confines of existing insurance networks, short-term treatment of 28 days or less is all that most Americans are offered — if they can get any help at all. This ultimately reflects the soft bigotry of low expectations: an inadequate care system designed to deliver less than what people need because we still moralize addiction and do not value people who have substance use disorders.”
William Stauffer has been the Executive Director of Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Alliance (PRO-A), the statewide recovery organization of Pennsylvania. He is in long-term recovery since age 21 and has been actively engaged in public policy in the recovery arena for most of those years. He is also an adjunct professor of Social Work at Misericordia University in Dallas Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelors in Social work degree from Cedar Crest College and a Masters Degree from Kutztown University.
William Stauffer has initiated numerous workforce expansion initiatives for persons in recovery. A major focus of his work has been aimed at moving our entire SUD care system towards a five-year care paradigm to dramatically expand the numbers of Americans in Recovery while saving lives, resources, and communities. Mr. Stauffer has been a staunch advocate for strong SUD Patient Privacy Protections at both the state and federal levels for many years. He ran a recovery house taskforce for the Pennsylvania that helped inform PA Act 59 of 2017. In 2018, he testified in front of the US Senate Special Committee on Aging on the opioid epidemic and older adults, and in 2019, he conducted a hearing with the PA House Human Services Committee to expand recovery opportunities for young people.
He is co-chair of the public policy committee for Faces & Voices of Recovery and the 2019 recipient of the Vernon Johnson Award Individual Recovery Advocate of the year. Mr. Stauffer was also the 2002 Recipient of the Lecie G. Machell prize in Social Work and, prior to taking the position of executive director of PRO-A , received Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Alliances award of the Recovery Advocate of the year, in 2008.
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3 thoughts on “Addiction treatment is broken. Here’s what it should look like”
Nice job.
I’ve been watching the reactions on Twitter and the Stat website. It’s interesting that the physicians comments are critical. (It’s a small number and who knows if they represent any larger sentiment.)
It’s also too bad that they dismiss it on the basis falsehood and questioning the characters of researchers you cite, rather than the data in their findings.
Keep it up.
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I am mulling on why that may be. It is hard to speculate why. It has been my experience that negative perceptions about addiction and those of us in recovery show up in odd places. Without regard to education.
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I agree 100% with Bill Stauffer. Well written editorial. The “haters” of the editorial seem to be those who would not be convinced of another point of view no matter how much evidence was presented. Don’t waste your time trying to persuade the unpersuadable.
Nice job.
I’ve been watching the reactions on Twitter and the Stat website. It’s interesting that the physicians comments are critical. (It’s a small number and who knows if they represent any larger sentiment.)
It’s also too bad that they dismiss it on the basis falsehood and questioning the characters of researchers you cite, rather than the data in their findings.
Keep it up.
I am mulling on why that may be. It is hard to speculate why. It has been my experience that negative perceptions about addiction and those of us in recovery show up in odd places. Without regard to education.
I agree 100% with Bill Stauffer. Well written editorial. The “haters” of the editorial seem to be those who would not be convinced of another point of view no matter how much evidence was presented. Don’t waste your time trying to persuade the unpersuadable.