Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced today that it has earned an Achievement Award from The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) in the category of “Living the Vision.”
The award was bestowed upon CHOP’s EMPOWER Program (formerly the Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education, or CORE, Program) for transforming youth substance use disorder care through an innovative, systemwide program that expands early identification, treatment access, and harm-reduction services.
The CORE program – an initiative that began in CHOP’s Poison Control Center and is now managed by the Center for Public Health Readiness and Response – is dedicated to preventing opioid-related injury and death in the hospital, the home and the community, and its reach has expanded beyond hospital walls through partnerships with community-based and governmental agencies.
Spearheaded by Jeanette Trella, PharmD, BCPPS, Senior Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Response and EMPOWER Program Sponsor, the program’s multifaceted approach to addressing this critical issue includes prioritizing increased recognition and treatment of adolescents with substance use disorder, as well as identifying young children at risk of experiencing adverse events associated with substance use in the home, and connecting them to appropriate resources.
“The entire family suffers when a loved one has substance use disorder [SUD],” Trella said. “We know that most adults with SUD first started using when they were teenagers. We also know that there is a scarcity of adolescent treatment resources in our region. The only way to address this was by developing a truly comprehensive program. We are honored by HAP’s recognition of the continued success of this program, which we hope will be able to continue to meet the needs of children and their families.”
Since its launch in 2020, EMPOWER has supported many successful initiatives, including the installation of drug take-back bins across CHOP’s campus, the implementation of community naloxone distribution, creation of clinical pathway for withdrawal management in adolescents, developing opioid stewardship tools, and most recently advocating for the licensing of an outpatient treatment program for adolescents.
"HAP is proud to recognize CHOP for its outstanding work addressing the rising complications associated with youth substance use," HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings said. "CHOP's EMPOWER program has achieved measurable operational and clinical results, creating a pathway for meaningful regional impact and potential replication elsewhere. The HAP Achievement Awards highlight the innovative ways hospitals are working inside and outside their walls to improve health and strengthen the communities they serve."
HAP’s Achievement Awards program has recognized Pennsylvania hospital excellence since 1978. Entries were evaluated by a 15-judge panel. The panelists, drawn from Pennsylvania and across the nation, represented the public and private sectors, business organizations, consumer groups, and renowned health care quality institutes.
CHOP’s EMPOWER/CORE team and the other winners will be recognized at HAP’s annual Leadership Summit, which will be held June 2-3, 2026, in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced today that it has earned an Achievement Award from The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) in the category of “Living the Vision.”
The award was bestowed upon CHOP’s EMPOWER Program (formerly the Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education, or CORE, Program) for transforming youth substance use disorder care through an innovative, systemwide program that expands early identification, treatment access, and harm-reduction services.
The CORE program – an initiative that began in CHOP’s Poison Control Center and is now managed by the Center for Public Health Readiness and Response – is dedicated to preventing opioid-related injury and death in the hospital, the home and the community, and its reach has expanded beyond hospital walls through partnerships with community-based and governmental agencies.
Spearheaded by Jeanette Trella, PharmD, BCPPS, Senior Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Response and EMPOWER Program Sponsor, the program’s multifaceted approach to addressing this critical issue includes prioritizing increased recognition and treatment of adolescents with substance use disorder, as well as identifying young children at risk of experiencing adverse events associated with substance use in the home, and connecting them to appropriate resources.
“The entire family suffers when a loved one has substance use disorder [SUD],” Trella said. “We know that most adults with SUD first started using when they were teenagers. We also know that there is a scarcity of adolescent treatment resources in our region. The only way to address this was by developing a truly comprehensive program. We are honored by HAP’s recognition of the continued success of this program, which we hope will be able to continue to meet the needs of children and their families.”
Since its launch in 2020, EMPOWER has supported many successful initiatives, including the installation of drug take-back bins across CHOP’s campus, the implementation of community naloxone distribution, creation of clinical pathway for withdrawal management in adolescents, developing opioid stewardship tools, and most recently advocating for the licensing of an outpatient treatment program for adolescents.
"HAP is proud to recognize CHOP for its outstanding work addressing the rising complications associated with youth substance use," HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings said. "CHOP's EMPOWER program has achieved measurable operational and clinical results, creating a pathway for meaningful regional impact and potential replication elsewhere. The HAP Achievement Awards highlight the innovative ways hospitals are working inside and outside their walls to improve health and strengthen the communities they serve."
HAP’s Achievement Awards program has recognized Pennsylvania hospital excellence since 1978. Entries were evaluated by a 15-judge panel. The panelists, drawn from Pennsylvania and across the nation, represented the public and private sectors, business organizations, consumer groups, and renowned health care quality institutes.
CHOP’s EMPOWER/CORE team and the other winners will be recognized at HAP’s annual Leadership Summit, which will be held June 2-3, 2026, in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
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Ben Leach
Poison Control Center