| Court makes it easier for patients to enter rehab
Pennsylvanians battling drug and alcohol addiction will not need a second opinion from their HMO before entering treatment programs, a state appeals court ruled. In a unanimous decision released Thursday, Commonwealth Court ruled that group insurance companies and HMOs must cover drug and alcohol treatment costs for policy holders referred to detoxification, rehabilitation and outpatient programs by a doctor or psychologist. The ruling will help about 15,000 state residents with private insurance who seek substance abuse treatment each year, said Deborah Beck, president of the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania. It's a really important decision that I think gives power back to doctors and psychologists, said Beck, whose Harrisburg-based organization represents licensed treatment centers and school-run counseling programs.
Youth drug center gets $100K
Steven Santilli had stolen his mother's jewelry and blazed through three high schools in four years, but his nadir as a drug addict was this: On his 19th birthday, he passed out in a friend's driveway after mixing alcohol and Ecstasy.
"Not that it was a wake-up call," he said. "I woke up and did drugs the next day."
Santilli, 20, is learning to vanquish addiction at the Phoenix Academy of Long Island, a long-term residential youth drug treatment center in East Hampton.
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The Week in Review
Here is a look at the top stories of local interest published in The Indiana Gazette during the week of July 29-Aug. 4. SUNDAY, JULY 29 Organizers with the Homer Center Historical Society were gearing up for the two-day Center Township bicentennial celebration, which began Saturday and will run from noon to 8 p.m. today at the Red Barn Sportsmen's Club. The event features activities for all ages, including ethnic foods, children's activities, entertainment and a car cruise. .... MONDAY, JULY 30 James C. Miller, chairman and chief executive officer of S&T Bank, announced that he will retire from active bank employment effective next spring. Miller has served as S&T Bank's CEO for about 10 years. Miller first began his career in banking as a marketing manager at Brookville Bank & Trust Co.
Nursing homes may add 58 beds
After months of working, waiting and negotiating, two Jackson nursing homes may finally be able to add beds to their facilities. Lloyd Ganton Retirement Centers and John Ganton's Countryside Retirement Community are poised to add 29 beds each, following a proposed decision issued by the state Certificate of Need Commission earlier this week. The move still needs approval by the Certificate of Need Commission director, who must make a final decision by Monday. Jackson County has been 150 beds short of the prescribed nursing home capacity since the Cedar Knoll home closed in March after the state pulled its Medicaid and Medicare licenses. Each Ganton company submitted bids for 29 beds each in February. Lloyd Ganton's company will spend $25,000 to add the beds to its Arbor Manor Care Center, 151 Second St., in Spring Arbor, bringing capacity to 136 beds.
More teens raiding the medicine cabinet
U.S. drug czar John Walters was in town on Friday visiting Austin Recovery, a drug treatment center in Northeast Austin. Walters thanked Austin Recovery for standing on the frontlines in the war against drugs. He also spoke about one of the most dangerous emerging drugs among teenagers: the ones in your medicine cabinet. "They get into the medicine cabinet and take pills that are either no longer being used or are left around," John Walters of the National Drug Control Policy said. The government says prescription addiction is at an all-time high among teens. If the teens are lucky, they may wind up in treatment before the problem gets worse. .
Panel clears Gilbert police in teen's death
A Gilbert police panel's administrative investigation cleared officers of any wrongdoing in the death an 18-year-old male suffering from "acute methamphetamine toxicity." . The Gilbert panel stated that Athetis' death was "unfortunate," but that police had used "appropriate levels of force." Additionally, the panel found that the police officers' actions were "lawful and in compliance with departmental procedures and established training guidance." Included in a Gilbert internal affairs investigation report, which supplemented the panel's review, is an excerpt from a Maricopa County Attorney Office review board that found officers' actions did not warrant criminal prosecution. .
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