To many in the Lehigh Valley drug use and social working community, Paige Ross was a giant in the field, a woman who helped improve the treatment that drug users received.
She was outspoken about her struggle with substance abuse disorder and held a strong belief that substance abuse disorder is a disease that should be treated and not something to be ashamed of. She was also quick to correct anyone who used words and terms like “substance abusers,” “addicts,” and “users.”
“She wanted to save the world,” says Alison Snell, owner of Navigate Consulting. “She was able to connect with these patients and the people she met. there was.”
Mr. Roth is a Certified Recovery Specialist and Social Worker, Former Addiction Recovery Services Program Coordinator, Lehigh Valley Health Networkdied at his home on Monday at the age of 61. She would have turned 62 in September.
Friends and colleagues have described her as fierce and spirited, yet compassionate, intelligent, assertive and relentless in her desire to help others.
Roth’s classmate and former LVHN colleague, Snell, said Roth’s own experience with drug use meant he was non-judgmental and had the ability to empathize and understand those in pain. Snell said her never-ending desire to help people made her job great, but she sometimes went at her own expense.
Mr. Ross joined LVHN in 2006 as an administrative assistant to the network vice president, but later became Network’s First Certified Recovery Specialist And one of the first in the Lehigh Valley as well.
In an interview with Morning Call before he died, Ross said that when hospital psychiatrists began to become hospital psychiatrists, patients with substance use disorders, if not another mental illness as their primary diagnosis, said it was common to refuse treatment for
She said this inspired her to advocate for a program to place social workers in LVHN’s emergency departments for people with substance use disorders.
Ross won a grant to bring the program to life and began social work at the end of 2016 at the Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest, LVH 17th Street, LVH Muhlenberg Emergency Department. From there Ross continued on, She participated in the study alongside LVHN doctors and other staff The network conducted and held education and training on substance use disorders.
Andrea Marcola, a friend, classmate, and fellow social worker, said Ross’ work helped change the way drug users are treated in the Lehigh Valley.
“She opened the door to what therapy should be and what therapy should be like,” Marcola said. “I don’t mean just to treat from a medical point of view, but to treat people who are suffering from or recovering from substance use disorders or alcohol use disorders. How do we treat them as human beings and not as users?”
Outside the hospital, Ross spoke at professional conferences, attended rallies, and trained other social workers.
Lisa Wolfe, Community Engagement Manager at the Center for Humanistic Change in Allentown, says Ross is not only knowledgeable, but also approachable, and has been instrumental in understanding substance use disorders in the Lehigh Valley. He said he was a reliable person. Wolff, she said, sought out Ross about seven years ago when he was starting a program within the center focused on the opioid epidemic.
“I went up to her and asked if she could spend some time with me. I didn’t know much about addiction, so I asked her to educate me,” Wolff said. Ta. “There were very few resources that we had today. , really helped guide me.”
Ross holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Cedarcrest College and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Marywood College, where he was an Adjunct Professor and a classroom advocate.
Phyllis Black, former director and emeritus professor of social work at the University of Marywood, said of all the students she has taught in 30 years, Ms. Ross was truly one of the standouts. She wasn’t afraid to stir things up a bit to create positive change.
Christina C. Gigler, a current assistant clinical professor at Widener College and a former professor at Marywood University, said the two had discussed her ideas for the program many times when Ross was a student. After her Ms. Ross graduated, Ms. Gigler asked her to help educate her students, she said. Ms Ross, she said, was one of the best social workers she had ever met.
Those who knew her said Ross stood out for her honesty about her illness and understanding that recovery is a process.
In an interview with Morning Call, Ross said he started drinking again after experiencing stress, overwork and burnout from working in the medical field during the COVID-19 pandemic. She had been sober for 15 years at the time, and she was being asked too much of her.
“It was too stressful for me. I remember sitting in the parking lot after work and thinking, for the first time in 15 years, drink,'” Ross said. My whole job, my whole career, was based on the fact that I had a bad experience, but I was finally able to cool down and start this program, and now I’m drinking again.”
She said she left the network and went into recovery again, spending 30 days in a treatment center.
Bill Stauffer, himself a 37-year recovering drug user, said the pandemic was especially difficult for people with substance use disorders. Many were cut off from the personal connections and social support systems they depended on.
“She’s probably the first person to say, ‘If something goes wrong, get help,'” said Stauffer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Alliance of Reconstruction Organizations.
Stauffer added that Roth’s contributions to the Lehigh Valley’s substance abuse recovery and social working communities will benefit the people of the Lehigh Valley for years to come.
“She spearheaded efforts to start these conversations in the Lehigh Valley to normalize care for people with substance use disorders in the hospitals where she worked. I was an advocate and part of the community,” Stauffer said. .
Snell said Ross’ story is a reminder that all social workers need to know how to not only help others but also look after themselves and their needs. .
Snell added that the Lehigh Valley needs more people like Ross.
“I think she left the door wide open for someone to step in and take over what she started because that was all she wanted,” Snell said. Ta. “That was her passion, helping the drug and alcohol community and getting the help they needed to succeed in life and not let addiction and disease shape their definition of who they are. ”
If you have a substance use disorder and need help, please contact us at:
Drugs and Alcohol in Lehigh County, Government Center, 17 South Seventh St, Allentown. 610-782-3555
Northampton County Drugs and Alcohol, Northampton County Welfare Building, 2801 Emrick Blvd., Bethlehem. 610-829-4725
