Serenity Lane Designated as a Blue Distinction® Center for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery

To help patients struggling with a substance use disorder find facilities that deliver quality treatment and care, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon recognizes Serenity Lane as one of the first facilities to receive the Blue Distinction® Center for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery (BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery) designation – a designation under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated facilities that show a commitment to delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, which highlights the seriousness of the opioid epidemic and how critical it is for patients to receive comprehensive, meaningful care. The BDC Substance Use Treatment and Recovery program requires designated facilities to deliver coordinated multidisciplinary care to patients and provide timely access to quality medical and psychosocial care in all phases of treatment. Designated facilities must also offer medication-assisted treatment (MAT) – a way to treat opioid addiction that includes a medication component and behavioral therapy.

“Serenity Lane is honored to be among the first recipients of the Blue Distinction® Center designation. A substance use disorder can throw a family into crisis. By guiding their members to effective, welcoming environments like Serenity Lane that are committed to excellence, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon provides hope in the storm. In our nearly 48 years of helping individuals and families we have grown and refined our work together with trusted partners like Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. This partnership expands our work of helping those battling substance use disorders. Together we save lives and put families back together.” –Pete Kerns, President and CEO, Serenity Lane

“The esteemed designation as a Blue Distinction® Center is a reflection of a facility’s commitment to provide high-quality, evidence-based substance use and recovery care,” said Dr. Hossam Mahmoud, Regence’s behavioral health medical director. “Working together, health plans and providers can improve the way people and families experiencing addiction receive the care and support they need, which in turn leads to better health outcomes.”

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery, and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research for many programs shows that, compared to other providers, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients.

For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.

About Serenity Lane
Serenity Lane is a not for profit, specialty treatment facility for the disease of addiction offering medically managed, safe detox, individually tailored residential programs, an intensive outpatient program, DUII services and ongoing aftercare and mental health services. We have been in operation since 1973 and have seven locations throughout the state of Oregon.

About Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, headquartered in Portland, has been serving Oregonians since 1941 and now provides more than 974,000 people with comprehensive health insurance solutions. As a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Regence is part of a family of companies dedicated to transforming health care by delivering innovative products and services that change the way consumers nationwide experience health care. For more information, please visit regence.com, facebook.com/regencebluecrossblueshield, or twitter.com/regenceoregon.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Health of America Report® series and the national BCBS Health Index^SM. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube and follow us on Twitter.

About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.