Customers Bank Donates $40K to Family Service’s Center of Excellence

Customers Bank, a community-based bank with locations throughout the region, donated $40,000 to Family Service Association of Bucks County, a non-profit organization that serves more than 27,000 people in need each year in Bucks County.

Family Service offers a variety of programs and services including emergency housing, suicide prevention, parent education, recovery support, counseling, job coaching and more. The funds from Customers Bank will go directly to Family Service’s Center of Excellence.

Last fall, Governor Tom Wolf named Family Service as one of 50 Centers of Excellence across Pennsylvania. Centers of Excellence help ensure that people with opioid-related substance use disorders stay in treatment, receive follow-up care and are supported within their communities. The centers coordinate care for people with Medicaid, and treatment is team-based and “whole person” focused, with the explicit goal of integrating behavioral health and primary care.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Family Service and the other Center of Excellence providers were chosen for being ahead-of-the-curve when it comes to substance use disorder treatment.

Many people affected by the opioid epidemic are diagnosed with co-occurring drug and alcohol and mental health disorders (COD) and need specialized treatment. Family Service is the only outpatient provider in Bucks County to earn the status of Co-occurring Enhanced Treatment Provider in accordance with Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania’s guidelines. Thus, Family Service is uniquely qualified to provide specialized services to those with co-occurring disorders who are at high risk.

Pennsylvania is among the 10 states with the highest opioid use and overdose rates. According to Bucks County Coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids—heroin and opioid-based prescription painkillers—rose to 185 last year in Bucks County, up nearly 50 percent from 2015.

No portion of our community is immune from the devastation caused by the opioid epidemic. “Addiction does not discriminate. Lives are shattered without regard to income, race, ethnicity, gender or educational attainment,” shared Marlene Piasecki, Chief Operating Officer at Family Service. “And the road to recovery is not an easy one. We meet clients where they are – that may be at an emergency room, a rehabilitation facility, their home or on the streets – and we do whatever it takes to prevent them from becoming a casualty of this tragic epidemic.”

Family Service’s Center of Excellence team consists of Care Coordinators, many of whom are Certified Recovery Specialists, and a Nurse who work with clients to get their lives back on track and achieving their goals. Team members provide a warm handoff from one treatment provider or level of care to another, and they help clients connect to treatment, supports and other resources. Family Service offers medication assisted treatment when applicable, and the agency assists clients with attaining insurance, finding supportive housing and addressing other life needs.

“The recovery services provided by Family Service are critical to the health and well-being of people in our community,” said Joseph E. Schupp, Senior Vice President and Community Reinvestment Act Officer at Customers Bank. “Customers Bank is dedicated to investing in the Bucks County community and ensuring that all members of our community have access to the support they need.”

Family Service’s Center of Excellence serves adults, ages 18 and older, who have an Opioid Use Disorder or are actively using opioids and who have or are eligible for Medicaid. If you or your loved one needs help, call 215.757.6916, ext. 150 to access services.

Photo Caption: (Left to Right) Dominick Paciolla, Customers Bank Branch Manager; Audrey J. Tucker, Chief Executive Officer of Family Service; Ben Ciliberto, 1st Vice President of Family Service Board of Directors; and Joseph E. Schupp, Senior Vice President and Community Reinvestment Act Officer at Customers Bank.

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Family Service Association of Bucks County is a nonprofit social service organization with locations throughout Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Family Service’s mission is to listen, care and help. Every day. For more than 60 years, Family Service has been improving the lives of children and their families, doing whatever it takes to help them overcome obstacles and reach their full potential. Visit www.fsabc.org to donate, volunteer or learn more about how Family Service helped more than 27,000 children, teens and adults last year.

Customers Bank is a community-based bank headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa. with locations from Boston to Philadelphia, including a full-service branch at 73 Old Dublin Pike in Doylestown, Pa. Customers Bank is an equal opportunity lender that provides a full range of banking services to small- and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals and families. Additional information about Customers Bank can be found on the company's website, www.customersbank.com.