Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today joined with Assemblymembers Bill Magnarelli and Al Stirpe to announce $400,000 in funding for Crouse Hospital's opiate and heroin abuse prevention and treatment program, which provides services to patients from Syracuse and the surrounding 16 counties. In addition to inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services, Crouse Hospital also operates the only methadone program in Central New York.

"Heroin addiction is on the rise and substance abuse providers all over the country are struggling to keep up with the critical need for treatment services," said Speaker Heastie. "This grant will support vital substance abuse treatment programs at Crouse Hospital so that Central New Yorkers can continue to get help they need."

"Crouse Hospital has provided excellent care for over a century and has been combating substance abuse in Central New York since the 1960s," said Assemblymember Magnarelli. "These funds will allow Crouse to expand and increase access to services for substance abuse treatment and prevention in Syracuse and throughout Central New York."

"Heroin and opioid addictions are destroying lives across the state and the country. Crouse Hospital is working to end this epidemic," said Assemblymember Stirpe. "I applaud the Assembly Majority for recognizing the urgency of substance abuse problems and designating these funds that Crouse Hospital desperately needs."

In the SFY 2015-16 budget, the legislature, with Assembly Majority support, allocated $1 million for opiate abuse prevention and treatment programs. Crouse Hospital was awarded $400,000 of those funds to provide expanded services to the Central New York Region, under one or both of the following demonstration programs that were enacted as part of the 2014 Opiate Abuse Legislative Package:

• Opioid Addiction Treatment and Hospital Diversion Demonstration Program, a new model of detoxification and transitional services which provides short-term residential and peer support services for individuals seeking treatment for heroin and opioid addiction, with the intent to reduce the reliance of emergency room services.
• Heroin and Opioid Wraparound Services Demonstration Program, a program providing heroin and opioid addiction wraparound services to adolescents and adults who are in treatment, and for a period up to nine months after the completion of such treatment. These services include case management, peer supports, employment support, and transportation assistance.

"Since 1962, Crouse Hospital has been on the front lines of substance abuse treatment and it is a service we remain steadfastly committed to. Today, we are in the midst of a dangerous heroin and opioid epidemic that is ruining - and ending - lives on a daily basis here in Syracuse and Central New York. It is not an understatement to say that this is a public health crisis," said Monika Taylor, Director of Behavioral Health Services for Crouse Hospital. "At Crouse, we have reached capacity with our ability to treat patients. We are extremely grateful to Assembly Speaker Heastie and Assemblymen Bill Magnarelli and Al Stirpe for this much needed - and much appreciated - support of Crouse's chemical dependency treatment services. We have plans to move to a larger facility and this support from the State Assembly will allow Crouse to expand and increase access to services, allowing us to meet the increasing demand for treatment and prevention here in Syracuse and throughout Central New York."