Project H.O.P.E.'s Lynda Bascelli, MD, Becomes Board-Certified in Addiction Medicine

Camden, NJ, December 04, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Dr. Lynda Bascelli, Chief Medical Officer at Project H.O.P.E.’s West Street Health Center in Camden, has received her Board Certification from the American Board of Addiction Medicine as an addiction specialist.

Dr. Bascelli established integrated primary care, behavioral health and addiction treatment services at Project H.O.P.E. in June 2013, including medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine for patients with opioid dependence. Project H.O.P.E. was the first Federally Qualified Health Center, FQHC, in Camden County to offer buprenorphine as a treatment option to the homeless and low-income population of Camden.

"It should not be easier to access heroin than it is to access treatment services for opioid dependence," notes Dr. Bascelli, who believes treatment for addiction should be provided as urgently as treatment for any other life-threatening illness.

An addiction specialist is a physician certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine who has demonstrated by education, experience, and examination the requisite knowledge and skills to provide prevention, screening, intervention, and treatment for substance use and addiction. Addiction can involve alcohol, tobacco, or other addicting drugs, including some prescription medications. In addition, addiction specialists can recognize and treat the psychological and physical complications of addiction.

Since 2013, Project H.O.P.E. has provided treatment to 360 patients with opioid dependence. Dr. Bascelli’s expertise and efforts to expand the drug treatment in a city and state that is plagued by a heroin epidemic are to be applauded.

Contact: Patricia DeShields
deshieldsp@projecthopecamden.org
856.541.6092, ext. 1016