Documentary highlights local SPHS Centers of Excellence
“Battling Opioids, A Project of Pennsylvania Public Media” features Beth Theis, left, and Bill Wall, whose son, Chris, died. Chris’s Room, a quiet environment for clients of the SPHS Care Center, was made possible by donations from Chris’ friends and family.
Beth Theis and Bill Wall sit with a picture of their son, Chris.
WQED producer Beth Dolinar has been documenting Pennsylvania’s opioid epidemic for more than a year. Two segments she filmed at Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Service’s Centers of Excellence in Washington earlier this year gave her hope that progress is being made.
“I would say producing those two short segments gave me more optimism than everything else I produced,” Dolinar said.
The Centers of Excellence in Washington and stories of the COE care navigators will be highlighted when “Battling Opioids, A Project of Pennsylvania Public Media” premiers 8 p.m. Thursday on Public Broadcast Stations statewide.
All seven public media stations across the state – WQED (Pittsburgh), WHYY (Philadelphia), WITF (Harrisburg), WLVT/PBS39 (Greater Lehigh Valley), WPSU (State College), WQLN (Northwestern PA) and WVIA (Northeastern PA) – contributed to the 60-minute documentary. WQED’s segments for the production were shot at the SPHS Centers of Excellence.
The premiere of “Battling Opioids, A Project of Pennsylvania Public Media” will be followed by a live panel discussion. The program is hosted by award-winning journalist Paola Giangiacomo, host of WVIA’s television series “Call the Doctor.”
Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services established the COEs at 75 East Maiden Street in Washington and at 2 Eastgate Avenue in Monessen in early 2017.
The Centers of Excellence is an initiative by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to integrate behavioral health and primary care to insure that people with opioid-use disorder receive treatment and continue to receive follow-up care and support within the community.
“While the news media has done an excellent job defining the epidemic, who it has affected and how many have been affected, we weren’t seeing that there is hope in this and there is light at the end of the tunnel,” said Dolinar, who also writes a weekly column for the Observer-Reporter. “I’ve learned there are people getting better and it is not all darkness.”
One segment of the WQED production highlights Chris’s Room, a safe, quiet environment for clients of the SPHS Care Center treatment programs to visit. The adjacent sanctuary room is a peaceful site for reflection and meditation. Chris’s Room was made available with donations from his family and friends in his memory.
Dolinar said Chris Wall’s parents, Bill Wall and Beth Theis, are compelling and courageous in bringing the opioid epidemic to light.
“Bill Wall was very emphatic and articulate in saying the stigma has to go away,” Dolinar said. “The stigma and the shame is what stands between an addict and getting better. They determined that if there was anything in their grief they could do to eliminate that stigma, they would.”
“We were able to say this isn’t just a problem of uneducated people. It’s not just people in poverty and in bad neighborhoods, its everywhere. It can happen to anyone. When you look at it like any other epidemic that takes people out, why shouldn’t you care?”
Care navigators who are themselves in long-term recovery are featured in a segment Dolinar titled “Voice of Hope.”
“We wanted to ask them, ‘What you do to stay clean from one day to the next?'” Dolinar said. “One plays the guitar, another goes to the gym. But to a person, they said the other thing that helps them to stay clean is that they are helping others stay clean.
“You can’t go through it alone, you need support of the others who are behind you.”
Cheryld Emala, who supervises the Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services Inc.’s Centers of Excellence program, said “Battling Opioids, A Project of Pennsylvania Public Media” highlights the most important part of the COE – that individuals in recovery do inspire others to get help.
“The outcomes show we are able to engage a significant number of people to treatment who otherwise would not be and keep them engaged,” Emala said. “Between the two COEs, we’ve helped more than 1,000 people and literally three in four have gone into treatment.”
Kellie McKevitt, executive director of SPHS Behavioral Health Services, said Chris’s Room was an initiative that had been in the planning stages for some time. Chris’ family presented the opportunity to make the idea a reality.
“Chris’s Room fills in the gaps for people who are seeking treatment or not ready for treatment,” McKevitt said. “It’s really a safe haven. Finally, there’s something positive and it’s a reflection of Chris.”