May 3, 2018 2 min read

In the midst of a swing through this corner of the commonwealth, Gov. Tom Wolf visited the Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services Inc. Care Center in Washington Wednesday morning to host a regional meeting of his opioid command center.

It was part of the governor’s 90-day heroin and opioid disaster declaration.

“It was kind of nice that he was able to see that his initiatives are operational,” said Kellie McKevitt, executive director of behavioral health services for Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services (SPHS).

The regional meeting of the opioid command center was the first of its kind. In a statement, the governor said, “We have been focused on data collection and initiative implementation, so now we are able to go into various regions of the state to share what we’ve collected about that region, and listen to the needs and efforts unique to this area.”

Wolf’s visit was the second time he has been at SPHS’s Care Center, on East Maiden Street in Washington. The first was in 2016, when it was named one of the 20 opioid use disorder Centers for Excellence by the state.

Other officials who were along on the visit included Rachel Levine, secretary of the Department of Health; Rick Flinn, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency; and Ellen DiDomenico, deputy secretary for the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

Wolf’s visit to this part of Pennsylvania also included a stop Tuesday at Carnegie Mellon University, where he talked up the state’s manufacturers and research institutions.