KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last week, Pennsylvania Physician General, Dr. Rachel Levine, and Representative Jamie Santora joined 12 of the nation’s leading experts on substance use disorder, its treatment, and recovery to discuss steps Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration will take to overcome substance abuse.

“It was a pleasure to meet with Rep. Santora and Mr. Brian O'Neill and address the advisory board of Recovery Centers of America,” said Dr. Levine. “We discussed the opioid crisis, the Wolf administration's plan to address it in Pennsylvania, and state-of-the-art treatment options. In the Wolf administration, it's all hands on deck with an interagency coordinated response. The scope of this crisis requires further coordination with community partners like Recovery Centers of America.”

In attendance were the leadership teams of Recovery Centers of America, who presented plans for each of its centers for addiction medicine, as well as the nation’s leading minds in addiction and medicine, including professionals from Harvard, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, and others who discussed the issues facing continuing care in the recovery of millions of Americans.

In commenting on the model for treatment as presented by Recovery Centers of America, Kathy Meyers, Ph.D., Treatment Research Institute said, “This is probably one of the few programs that identifies and addresses the needs of the wholeperson. One reason why addiction treatment fails most of the time is because we don’t think about the individual’s life. The fact that you’re looking beyond what we traditionally give and what traditionally doesn’t work is welcoming.”

Recovery Centers of America plans to have eight facilities providing all levels of care by 2018. RCA currently operatesLighthouse, a Recovery Centers of America Company, which provides detoxification, residential, and various outpatient programs. Three sites are slated to open in 2016 in Westminster, MA; Earleville, MD; and Danvers, MA. The remaining four locations, slated to open by 2018, are located in Washington, D.C.; Blackwood, NJ; Upper Marlboro, MD; and Paoli, PA.

Members of the RCA Advisory Panel include:

• Kathy Meyers, Ph.D., Director of Adolescent Services Research at the Treatment Research Institute
• John F. Kelly, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University; Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
• Herbert Kleber, M.D., Chair and Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University
• Charles P. O’Brien, M.D., Vice-Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania
• Dace Svikis, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Obstetrics/Gynecology at Virginia Commonwealth University
• Tim Condon, Ph.D. , Research Professor for CASAA (Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions) at The University of New Mexico
• Rick Rawson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Retired Co-Director of UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs
• David Gastfriend, M.D., Scientific Advisor at the Treatment Research Institute (TRI)
• Robert Stone, Founder and Former CSO/CMO of American Healthways; Former Director of the Certificate of Need Program in Massachusetts
• Phil Herschman, Ph.D., Former CCO of CRC Health Corporation
• Martin Iguchi, Ph.D., Senior Behavioral Scientist at RAND Corporation
• Adam Brooks, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Treatment Research Institute

“This first advisory board meeting represents a huge milestone for Recovery Centers of America,” said Dr. Deni Carise, chief clinical officer for Recovery Centers of America. “To have the top minds in our field provide insight, counsel, and perspective on our treatment model was not only an honor but a time of profound learning for the company. This inaugural meeting set the standard for meetings that will follow as we continue to explore the best science to help us offer the finest clinical care to our patients,” continued Carise.

If you or a loved one need help, call 1-800-RECOVERY now.

About Recovery Centers of America

Based in King of Prussia, PA, Recovery Centers of America is committed to advocating for the 22+ million Americans suffering from substance use disorders. The company, which is opening treatment centers throughout the Northeast, is transforming the way treatment is delivered in an industry in desperate need of change. Recovery Centers of America’s neighborhood-based centers for addiction medicine are designed based on the latest scientific research that indicates sustained recovery is more likely when patients stay connected to and supported by family and friends while building other, ongoing support networks. By allowing patients to receive treatment in an atmosphere more akin to a college campus with Starbucks-like appeal, Recovery Centers of America helps overcome the stigma of addiction and its treatment, an essential component to assisting individuals in treatment and entering long term meaningful recovery.