The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has registered the Conyngham Primary Health Care Center at Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley (CSC) as an Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Center of Excellence, recognizing its commitment to increasing access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for individuals with substance use disorders in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
This designation recognizes Robinson Counseling Center and Conyngham Primary Health Care Center as specialized providers at 335 S. Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, where patients receive integrated behavioral and physical health services for OUD, including those insured by the Pennsylvania Medicaid Program. Centers of Excellence collaborate with the Program Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Pittsburgh, where they report data to ensure quality of care and program compliance along the full continuum of care for substance use disorders.
President and CEO Christopher Boyle said the Center of Excellence is a key step to enable MAT as a successful component of treatment leading to stabilization of the individual, reduction of risk factors, and progress toward improved quality of life. “We are working to reduce the stigma of addiction through outreach,” Boyle said, “while enabling individuals to access safe, timely, high-quality MAT assessment and treatment within an integrated behavioral health-primary care setting,” Boyle said.
Opened in 2018, the Substance Use Disorder Program at Children’s Service Center and its Robinson Counseling Center for adult care has served thousands of individuals with treatment and community-based care management for drug and alcohol challenges, including OUD. Specific to the opioid crisis, OUD diagnoses there increased by 75 percent between 2018 and 2022, with overall drug and alcohol programming seeing a large influx during pandemic restrictions in 2020-2021.
Led by Jessy Miller, Vice President of Programs, and Eric Pollick, Director, the SUD program served 1,883 people in 2025. In addition to MAT at the Conyngham Primary Health Care Center, SUD operates the Community Warm Transfer Program, which responded to 379 individuals last year for drug or alcohol-related medical emergencies. This intervention team includes certified recovery specialists and certified peer specialists who provide timely non-medical support and encouragement to facilitate treatment.
For information about treatment for Substance Use Disorder, including Medication Assisted Treatment call 570-825-6425.
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