Pa. governor declares statewide disaster for opioid epidemic

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) declared the opioid epidemic a statewide disaster emergency in an effort to bolster the state’s tools to curb the crisis.

The move aims to waive rules that create barriers to fighting the prescription painkiller and heroin epidemic and the first initiatives are centered on three areas — improving coordination and data collection; increasing access to tools that help families and first responders; and boosting access to treatment.