Mangano: Nassau County Meets The Highest Standard Of Care For Those With Opioid Addictions

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano is pleased to report that the Nassau County Opioid Treatment Program (OTP), which was recently audited by the Joint Commission, was awarded a three year certification, the highest level of certification given by the Joint Commission. Joint Commission accreditation is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting program performance standards.

“Nassau County not only ‘talks the talk’ when it comes to combating the opioid abuse epidemic, but we ‘walk the walk’ as evidenced by the outstanding treatment provided by our Opioid Treatment Program,” said County Executive Mangano.

Prescription drugs or “painkillers” have surpassed Heroin as the substance with the highest number of drug-related deaths in Nassau County, as well as in the highest cause for admission to local drug treatment programs. To address this growing epidemic, County Executive Mangano has held numerous press conferences raising the awareness of the dangers of prescription drug addiction, as well as turning the focus of the County’s Heroin Prevention Task Force to educating the doctors who prescribe these painkillers and the pharmacists who fill the prescriptions, on how to identify the signs of addiction. In addition to the County’s Heroin Prevention Task Force taking the initiative to educate the public, programs like OTP have become an important and successful staple in educating recovering addicts about the effects of their actions not only on themselves but their loved ones as well.

The OTP opened its doors in the early 1970’s, treating clients addicted to heroin. At that time the program had a licensed capacity to treat approximately 50 heroin addicted clients. Today, the program’s licensed capacity has grown to 650, and treats clients with a range of opioid addictions. In addition to being licensed as an Opioid Treatment Program, the program is also certified by the NYS Department of Health as an Article 28 facility, which allows for the provision of primary medical care treatment for clients served.

The treatment staff at the OTP includes a full-time medical director, nurse practitioner, and a clinic psychiatrist. Dr. James Dolan, the Director of the Nassau County Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities Services, noted that the program also supports Continuous Quality Improvement initiatives designed to assist clients with: treatment compliance, the attainment of treatment goals, reducing multi-substance abuse, transitioning from incarceration, treatment during pregnancy, and Hepatitis C treatment.