Main Line Health announces launch of Delaware County Overdose Response Team, funded via $560K grant secured by U.S. Rep. Scanlon
Media, PA — Main Line Health and U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (Pennsylvania 5th District) today announced the launch of the Delaware County Overdose Response Team (DCORT), a targeted effort designed as a safety net for overdose patients and to ease the burden on strained Delaware County medical, emergency department and law enforcement resources.
The program was made possible by Rep. Scanlon securing $560,000 in grant funding. The program enables a community paramedic and a certified recovery specialist (CRS) to partner on overdose 911 calls, working to encourage patients to go directly from the scene to a treatment center as appropriate.
"I want to express my deep gratitude to Congresswoman Scanlon for her work to secure this federal grant," said Jack Lynch, FACHE, President and CEO, Main Line Health. "For decades now, we have seen a worsening opioid epidemic – someone in Delaware County overdoses every seven to nine minutes. When we identified a way to make a difference by assembling a team with the mission to get overdose patients into treatment, she moved quickly and put in the hard work to make it happen."
Rep. Scanlon said she considered Main Line Health's funding request critical to the Delaware County community, where over 65,000 doses of Naloxone were administered by EMS from 2019–2021.
"As Delaware County has battled one of Pennsylvania’s highest instances of opioid use disorders, and a spike in overdose deaths since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the positive impact of evidence-based, community resources," said Rep. Scanlon. "That’s why I am so proud that we were able to secure $560,000 for Delaware County’s mobile Overdose Response Team. This overdose response team will serve as a vital safety net, providing immediate, on-the-ground intervention and support for those in crisis while easing the burden on overworked medical and emergency service providers."
A key grant component is funding a new CRS position at Mirmont Treatment Center, part of Main Line Health. The community paramedic's role is to provide stabilizing care. The CRS's role is to engage with the patient as a peer in a nonjudgmental way, trying to conduct a handoff to an appropriate rehabilitation center.
"Acting alone, first responders lack the support or resources to direct overdose patients to the behavioral health resources they need," said Valerie Schina, Executive Director, Mirmont Treatment Center. "This program allows us to assist first responders by intervening with patients struggling with substance abuse and mental health disorders. When patients are connected to a treatment resource, disrupting repeated calls to the same sites, the chances of a better long-term outcome are much higher."
About Mirmont Treatment Center
For over 40 years, Mirmont Treatment Center, part of Main Line Health, has guided thousands of individuals on their recovery journey by offering comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services for those struggling with substance use and co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses. Mirmont Treatment Center’s team of physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists and therapists work together to create an individualized treatment plan for each patient, ensuring they receive compassionate care in a safe, welcoming environment.
Services include detoxification, inpatient treatment, outpatient programs, dual diagnosis care, holistic therapies, family support and aftercare planning. Mirmont Treatment Center also offers specialty programs, including trauma-informed services, relapse prevention, Treatment for Emergency Responders (VIPER and Frontline Resilience Programs), treatment for pregnant women, alumni program and LGBTQIA+ support services. Partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs for adults and adolescents ages 14 and up are offered at Mirmont Outpatient Center locations in Broomall, Exton and Media. All facilities offer psychiatric evaluations and medication management along with medicated assisted treatment for alcohol and substance use disorders. Bryn Mawr Hospital provides care for adults, offering an all-inclusive inpatient psychiatric unit, providing acute stabilization, crisis intervention and dual diagnosis treatment for individuals with behavioral health and substance use disorders.
About Main Line Health
Main Line Health® is a not-for-profit health system serving the greater Philadelphia region. The System comprises five hospitals, seven health centers, more than 160 outpatient and physician practice locations, over 14,500 employees and more than 2,200 employed and independent physicians and advanced practice providers.
Founded in 1985, Main Line Health includes four of the region’s most respected acute care hospitals — Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital — as well as Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, one of the nation’s premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine. The System also includes Mirmont Treatment Center, which provides treatment and support for substance use disorders; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice; Main Line HealthCare, its employed multispecialty physician network; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a leading biomedical research organization; and Main Line Health Centers offering primary and specialty care, lab, radiology and other outpatient services in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Devon, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square.
Main Line Health brings together physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, researchers and other healthcare professionals across a broad network of inpatient, outpatient, home-based and community-based services. Through this integrated approach, the System delivers high-quality, comprehensive care across the continuum — from primary care and preventive services to complex specialty, surgical, trauma, emergency, rehabilitative, behavioral health, home care and hospice services — with a focus on making care accessible in the communities where people live and work.
Main Line Health also collaborates with leading clinical partners to expand access to specialized care. Through its affiliation with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, pediatric care is provided at select Main Line Health locations, including neonatal intensive care units at its acute care hospitals and Bryn Mawr Hospital’s Inpatient Pediatric Unit and Emergency Department. Jefferson Health neurosurgeons and neurointerventionalists also provide 24/7 specialized care, including neurointervention and lifesaving stroke care.