Office of National Drug Control Policy Deputy Director Jim Carroll Visits Caron Treatment Centers

Carroll and Caron Team Discuss Strategies to Address the Addiction Crisis through Quality Care, Treatment Research and Help for the Family

Wernersville, Pa. (November 21, 2018) – Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Deputy Director Jim Carroll visited Caron Treatment Centers, a leading, nationally recognized not-for-profit provider of addiction and behavioral healthcare treatment and prevention education, earlier this week. While at Caron, Carroll outlined ONDCP’s s priorities for combating the nation’s drug crisis – specifically the importance of addressing stigma, improving the overall quality of treatment for substance use disorder and supporting families struggling with this chronic, treatable disease. ONDCP is a component of the Executive Office of the President and its role is to ensures that the various government departments responding to the nation’s drug epidemic work in concert. Deputy Director Carroll has been nominated by President Trump to lead ONDCP and is awaiting confirmation by the Senate. During his visit to Caron, Carroll met with members of Caron’s Executive and Clinical Teams to learn more about Caron’s treatment programs and its initiatives in addiction research, education and prevention. In addition, Carroll met with a Caron alumnus and his mother who shared their compelling story of hope and recovery.

“It’s not just an opioid crisis – it is an addiction crisis,” said Deputy Director Carroll. “We need to look at how model programs like Caron’s work so that we can look for ways to replicate those elements that are effective in other places across the country. If we are to succeed in addressing this crisis, we must be relentless in our approach to this disease,” said Carroll.

More than 1 in 3 American families struggle with addiction. Last year alone, more than 72,000 Americans lost their lives to overdose, while another 88,000 died from diseases related to their alcohol use disorder. Caron takes a multidisciplinary, patient-centered, evidence-based and outcomes driven approach to treatment.

“We know good treatment works and were honored to have the opportunity to share our more than 60 years of experience treating and researching this disease with Deputy Director Carroll and his team from ONDCP,” said Doug Tieman, CEO & President of Caron. “We also shared our thoughts on the need for standards of care in the addiction treatment field.”

The visit took place on Monday, November 19, and included a tour of Caron’s new Carole and Ray Neag Medical Center, a state-of-the-art facility that houses detoxification beds, rooms for medically compromised patients, Caron’s Older Adult program and its neuro-feedback suite.

“We look forward to working with Deputy Director Carroll and ONDCP as they tackle this tremendous health issue,” commented Tieman.