Pennsylvania would benefit from expanding syringe services programs (SSPs) because the expansion of SSPs would save lives, save money and improve the health of Pennsylvania’s families and communities. Pennsylvania has the 3rd highest rate of overdose deaths and the 9th highest number of new HIV infections in the nation and COVID has exacerbated the overdose death crisis in Pennsylvania. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declares that SSPs reduce overdose deaths and the transmission of blood-borne diseases and act as a bridge to treatment and other support services. Thirty years of research shows that individuals who participate in SSPs are five times more likely to enter drug treatment than those who do not participate in the programs. SSPs are associated with a 50 percent reduction in HIV infections and also prevent the spread of hepatitis C and infections like endocarditis. The programs are critically important locations for access to naloxone and overdose prevention education. SSPs take back used syringes and properly dispose of them, thus reducing the possibility of harm to the community and first responders. In addition, expansion of SSPs would save Pennsylvania millions of dollars in avoided health care costs.
● ACLAMO
● Action Wellness
● Adagio Health
● Adams County Medical Society
● Addiction Medicine Services of Western Psychiatric Hospital
● AIDS Free Pittsburgh
● AIDS Resource: Williamsport, State College, Clearfield
● Alder Health Services
● Office of Allegheny County Councilmember Bethany Hallam
● Allegheny County Health Department
● Allegheny County Medical Society
● Allegheny HealthChoices Inc.
● Allegheny Health Network
● Allentown Health Bureau
● Alliance of Community Service Providers (Alliance CSP)
● Allies for Health + Wellbeing, Pittsburgh
● Alpha House, Inc., Pittsburgh
● American College of Nurse-Midwives: Pennsylvania Affiliate
● American Liver Foundation—Mid Atlantic Region
● Angels in Motion
● Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc.
● Be a Part of the Conversation
● Bebashi--Transition to Hope
● Behavioral Health Alliance of Rural Pennsylvania
● Berks County Medical Society
● Bethlehem Health Bureau
● Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership (BCHIP)
● Bucks County Medical Society
● Cambria County Drug Coalition
● Caring Communities for AIDS
● Carlisle Partnership for Better Health
● Caron Treatment Centers
● The Center for Inclusion Health / AHN
● Center for Public Health Law Research, Temple University Beasley School of Law
● Center for Recovery Medicine/AHN
● Central Outreach Wellness Center
● ChesPenn Health Services
● Chester County Medical Society
● Clean Slate Centers
● CLEAR - Coalition for Leadership, Education & Advocacy for Recovery
● Co-County Wellness Services
● Cody’s Kindness Crew
● Community Liver Alliance
● Compass Mark
● Coordinated Care Network (CCN) Pharmacy
● The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania/PRO-ACT
● Counseling Solutions of the Lehigh Valley
● Crossroads Treatment Center
● Cumberland-Perry Drug & Alcohol Commission Community Advisory Board
● Dauphin County Medical Society
● Deans of the Pennsylvania Schools of Public Health:
o Donald S. Burke, MD, Dean Emeritus, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
o Vernon Michael Chinchilli, PhD, Chair, Department of Public Health Services, Pennsylvania State University Public Health Program
o Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Dean, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University
o Hillary C.M. Nelson, PhD, MPH, Director of Education, MPH Program, University of Pennsylvania Master of Public Health Program
o Willie H. Oglesby, PhD, MSPH, FRSPH, FACHE, Interim Dean, College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University
o Laura A. Siminoff, PhD, Dean, Temple University College of Public Health
● Delaware County Health Department
● Delaware County Medical Society
● Erie County Department of Health
● Erie County Medical Society
● Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania
● Family Service Association of Bucks County
● FAVOR (Faces and Voices of Recovery) Western Pa - Bolivar Community Center
● Forward Allies, Pittsburgh
● Galaei
● Gaudenzia
● Glenn E. Sterner III, PHD, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University
● Hand N’ Heart
● Health Federation of Philadelphia
● Health Policy Network
● Healthy Start, Inc.
● Hepatitis B Foundation
● HepCAP, Philadelphia
● Hep B United Philadelphia
● Hep C Free Allegheny
● Hep Free PA
● Highlands Health: Laurel Highlands Free & Charitable Medical Clinic (Cambria, Somerset, Bedford)
● Highmark WholeCare
● HIV Prevention Research Division, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
● Hopeworx, Norristown, PA
● The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP)
● The Infinite Mission
● Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA)
● Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania
● Jewish Healthcare Foundation
● Lackawanna County Medical Society
● Lancaster County Pharmacists Association
● Lancaster, York, Harrisburg Harm Reduction Project
● Lehigh County Medical Society
● Lehigh Valley Health Network
● Lost Dreams Awakening (LDA) Recovery Community Center
● Lower Bucks for Change
● Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
● Luzerne County Medical Society
● Lycoming County Medical Society
● Maternal and Family Health Services
● Maternal Addiction Treatment, Education and Research (MATER), Jefferson University Hospitals, Diane J. Abatemarco, PhD, MSW, Director
● Maternity Care Coalition
● Mental Health Partnerships
● Mercer County Medical Society
● Message Carriers of Pennsylvania
● NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference
● NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania
● National Association of Social Workers—PA
● National Mental Health Consumers Self Help Clearinghouse
● Never Surrender Hope
● Northampton County Medical Society
● North-Star Care
● Not One More, Northwest PA
● Oasis Recovery Center of Western Pennsylvania
● The Open Door, Inc., Pittsburgh
● Operation In My Back Yard, Philadelphia
● PA Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
● PA Health Management
● Pathways to Housing PA
● Penn Center for AIDS Research
● Penn Medicine
● Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health
● Penn State Addiction Center for Translation
● Penn State Health
● Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians
● Pennsylvania Alliance of Recovery Residences (PARR)
● Pennsylvania Association of County Drug and Alcohol Administrators (PACDAA)
● Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers
● Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
● Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians
● Pennsylvania Halfway House Association
● Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Network
● Pennsylvania HIV Planning Group
● Pennsylvania Homecare Association
● Pennsylvania Medical Society
● Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association
● Pennsylvania Psychological Association
● Pennsylvania Psychiatric Leadership Council (PPLC)
● Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society
● Pennsylvania Public Health Association
● Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations Alliance (PRO-A)
● Pennsylvania Society of Addiction Medicine
● Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants
● Pennsylvania State Nurses Association
● Philadelphia County Medical Society
● Philadelphia Department of Public Health
● Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers
● Philadelphia Office of Addiction Services (Single County Authority for Philadelphia County)
● Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services
● Pittsburgh DanceSafe
● Prevention Point Philadelphia
● Prevention Point Pittsburgh
● Project SAFE
● Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC)
● Public Health Young Leaders Association (PHYLA)
● Puck Addiction-Michalene’s Mission (Luzerne County)
● Pyramid Healthcare, Inc.
● The RASE Project
● Reading Risk Reduction
● Recovery Education and Consulting
● Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association (RCPA)
● Sage’s Army
● SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania
● SELF Inc.
● Shepherd Wellness Community
● Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) PA
● Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Pittsburgh
● South Central EMS
● Southern Alleghenies EMS Council
● Southwest Behavioral Health Management
● Substance Use Disorders Institute at University of the Sciences
● Temple University Health System
● Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation
● TruCare Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases
● Unity Recovery
● University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
● University of Pittsburgh Program Evaluation and Research Unit (Pitt PERU)
● UPMC Internal Medicine Recovery Engagement Program
● Valley Health Partners Community Health Center
● WellSpan Health
● Westmoreland County Medical Society
● Weston Kensinger, PhD, CHES, Director, Douglas W. Pollock Center for Addiction Outreach and Research, Penn State Harrisburg School of Behavioral Sciences and Education
● White Deer Run Treatment Network
● The Wright Center
● The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education
● Wyoming Valley AIDS Council
● York City Bureau of Health
● York County Medical Society
● York Opioid Collaborative