Wellmark recognizes Keystone Treatment Center for demonstrating quality care Facility earns Blue Distinction® Center designation for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery

SIOUX FALLS, SD – Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced the Keystone Treatment Center in Canton has been designated as Blue Distinction® Center (BDC) for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery — a new 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.

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 — a way to treat opioid addiction that includes both a medication component and behavioral therapy. Treatment and recovery facilities will be designated on a rolling basis.

"The Blue Distinction Specialty Care program helps our members find quality care and encourages health care professionals to improve the overall delivery of care," said Laura Jackson, Wellmark's chief health officer. "By designating proven, patient-centered treatment facilities as Blue Distinction, we’re improving a patient’s path to recovery."

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.

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