100th Annivesary

PCC director: we're ahead of the curve

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The executives, board members and staff at the Peninsula Counseling Center have accomplished a lot over the last 100 years, and while they pause to celebrate the milestone now, there’s no sign of the agency slowing down any time soon.

In the ever-evolving world of medical services, Executive Director Dr. John Kastan said PCC has become more efficient in recent years and has plans to grow more resourceful through the use of technology upgrades. By the end of 2013, Kastan said PCC will upgrade to state-of-the-art electronic health records. The process of converting the existing records will begin in the summer after staff members are trained on how to use the new program.

Since Kastan took on his role as executive director in 2010, PCC has seen a rise in the number of people who seek treatment, particularly in its child and adolescent services and addictions program. It’s a movement he thinks will continue. “There is a tremendous need for child and adolescent services and unfortunately, if you follow the trends, the need for addiction services in Nassau County are tremendous and there are not enough quality programs,” he said.

Recently, Kastan explained, there has been an “explosion” in the amount of people experimenting with and becoming addicted to pharmacological agents, or prescription drugs, which can be accessed legally, in addition to illegal substances and alcohol.

In order to prevent addictions at a young age and to get to the root of emotional issues in children, the PCC team establishes and maintains relationships with local schools and hospitals.

“If you can get to a kid early that’s having a problem or a family that’s experiencing stress and difficulties perhaps we can help them and avert problems down the road and people can get back on track,” Kastan said. It’s important, he added, for people at any age to seek help for an issue or addiction before an incident occurs.

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