As wounds and amputations spike, experts say Philly’s $100M addiction treatment center must ensure adequate medical care for patients

Read full article at Inquirer.com

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker plans to build a $100 million addiction treatment center and shelter near the city's jail complex on State Road but so far has shared few concrete details on what services might be offered there.

The center could help fill gaps in the city's addiction treatment network, if the city invests in a wide breadth of services there, experts in health policy and addiction treatment told The Inquirer.

A key need identified: specialized medical care for people suffering from wounds caused by the animal tranquilizer xylazine, which has contaminated most of Philadelphia's illicit opioid supply.

Nicole O'Donnell, a certified recovery specialist at Penn Medicine, has been in recovery for over a decade and now works with people in active addiction as they seek treatment. Since the rise of xylazine in the city's drug supply, she has struggled to help patients access care for addiction and get treated for serious medical conditions resulting from its toxicity, such as infected wounds, amputations, and endocarditis, an infection of the heart valves.

Read full article at Inquirer.com