Jun. 10, 2016
LUZERNE – Rep. Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) is introducing a bill aimed at providing emergency drug and alcohol detoxification in existing community hospitals and other settings in Pennsylvania. Kaufer, who co-chairs the newly established PA Heroin, Opioid Prevention and Education (PA-HOPE) Caucus, learned about the severe lack of detox beds available across the state during the caucus’s first meeting in May.
Kaufer’s bill would encourage existing health care facilities to convert beds to provide medically supervised detoxification and create a staging area for people who are in need of developing a high-quality treatment program who may still be in search of an available bed.
“The drug epidemic we are facing across the country is a public health crisis,” Kaufer said. “We are losing more Americans to drug overdoses than in car accidents. This legislation is going to save lives. One of the biggest issues we face is that there isn’t emergency assistance available for individuals who are looking for help right now. They need some place to go to stabilize and detox before treatments can begin. I’m pleased that this bill has already received bipartisan support.”
Also this week in Harrisburg, Kaufer announced that the PA-HOPE Caucus, which he co-chairs in the House with Rep. Ed Gainey (D-Allegheny), is also now being co-chaired by Sens. Gene Yaw (R-23) and Sen. Jay Costa (D-43).
“This epidemic doesn’t care about gender, socio-economic class, age or political affiliation,” Kaufer said. “I’m glad to have all four caucuses in the House and Senate involved with this caucus.”
For more information about this legislation, or any other state-related issue, contact Kaufer’s district office in Luzerne located at 161 Main St., by calling 570-283-1001. Information can also be found online at
RepKaufer.com or
Facebook.com/RepKaufer.
Representative Aaron Kaufer
120th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
KCorbin@pahousegop.com
RepKaufer.com /
Facebook.com/RepKaufer