4-Star Gen. McCaffrey, Lehigh County Exec. Hansell, PA Drug Program Sec. Tennis... -- BETHLEHEM, Pa., April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Facility will be National Model for Co-occurring Disorders BETHLEHEM, Pa., April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four-Star General Barry McCaffrey (Ret), former US Drug Czar -- and Iraq and Latin American commander; Lehigh County Executive Bill Hansell; Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis and Deputy Secretary Kim Bowman; and Jerry Rhodes , Chief Operating Officer of the nation's largest treatment provider, CRC Health Group, will be among VIPs participating at the grand opening of the new Lehigh County-CRC Health Group/White Deer Run treatment center at a news conference at 11AM Monday, April 15. The facility will be a national model for co-occurring disorders involving substance abuse and mental health. Nine million Americans have co-occurring disorders of substance abuse and mental health issues, according to SAMHSA. The event will be held onsite at The Lehigh County Center for Recovery, 1620 Riverside Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015. A ribbon cutting will occur at the conclusion of the news conference. The facility has been licensed by state authorities and will be an adult co-ed, inpatient, detoxification, rehabilitation and dual diagnosis program. The facility is state funded. The event is open to the media and the public. Four- Star General McCaffrey stated, "Pennsylvania has made great strides but still has some 900,000 people who need but do not receive drug and alcohol treatment according to HHS and SAMHSA. The public-private partnership with Lehigh County is an outstanding strategy to address the treatment gap and restore people to productive lives. County Executive Bill Hansell thanked the state legislature for its "foresight in providing the crucial funding." Rhodes stated that "the event will underscore the importance of quality treatment programs. The partnership with Lehigh County and the facility's dual diagnosis specialization will be valuable national models. Other federal, state, county, and local officials will be participating in the event, together with families and patients. The facility will be run as a partnership between Lehigh County and CRC Health Group's White Deer Run division. Following the 11AM news conference and ribbon cutting, there will be tours for media and a lunch open to all who attend. MEDIA NOTE: In addition to the grand opening onsite news conference, Gen. McCaffrey and the other VIPs will be available for one-on-one interviews starting 30 minutes before and for 30 minutes after the event; and Gen. McCaffrey may be available for phone interviews the night before and early morning of the event. See contacts below. Contacts: Robert Weiner / Richard Mann 301-283-0821 or cell 202-306-1200 for Gen. McCaffrey and CRC Health Group weinerpublic@comcast.net; Frank Kane for Lehigh County 610-782-3001 cell 610-790-7588 frankkane@lehighcounty.org SOURCE Robert Weiner Associates