MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — The Community Health Alliance opened up a new opioid treatment center in Middletown that dispenses methadone, a drug used to treat heroin addictions.
"This is a full-service organization, so we provide everything from individual counseling to group counseling, psychiatry to physical care," said Scott Gehring, president/CEO of Community Health Alliance. "Then we also have an on-site pharmacy with methadone dispensing, and case management and care coordination."
Gehring said methadone is an effective drug.
"It helps reduce cravings, it helps reduce withdrawal symptoms," Gehring said.
He said the Drug Enforcement Administration has strict regulations when it comes to methadone. It’s kept in one of two 300-pound safes behind bulletproof glass reinforced by steel rebar from floor to ceiling. There’s a steel plate behind the safes. The room can only be accessed by the medical team at the clinic.
The treatment center has two methadone dosing windows, two group therapy rooms, four individual therapy rooms and an exam room.
Part of methadone treatment includes counseling.
"[Methadone] won’t cure everybody," said Dr. Valerie Hardcastle, vice president for Health Innovation at Northern Kentucky University. "It’s not right for everybody, but for those whom it is, it's a good treatment — it’s a really good treatment."
Hardcastle said methadone clinics are part of the solution to the opioid crisis.
"But, the challenge we’re seeing right now going forward is that there are more and more adulterants in the substances that people are getting," Hardcastle said.
Overall, she said these clinics are a good thing for communities to have.
"I think it’s much better to be able to provide that help and assistance than to pretend that you don’t have a problem," she said. "I think they play an important role in a person's recovery from substance misuse or substance use disorder. I understand the concerns because methadone is a controlled substance, and there is a real sense in which you’re replacing one substance with another."
Hardcastle said methadone helps people with addiction to live a normal life.
Dr. Roberto Soria with The Crossroads Center said methadone is crucial for his patients.
"It is a needed treatment. This treatment is needed," he said. "People on medication treatment at my clinic, 70% of the people I treat are illicit opioid-free."
Soria said methadone and buprenorphine work best in treating patients with opiate addiction.
Middletown Municipal Court Judge James Sherron said he thinks this treatment center is part of the solution to the opioid crisis.
"If it’s helpful, then utilize it," he said. "People ask If I have a drug court. I tell them I’m pretty much, we are a drug court, every day. I had a docket this afternoon and probably 20 of the 40 cases that we heard were drug-related."
The treatment center already has a few patients. Gehring noted patients receiving methadone will have to wait at the clinic for at least 30 minutes before they can leave. He said they offer a variety of medication-assisted treatment.
"We’re trying to save lives and strengthen communities," said Gehring. "I don’t think there’s anything controversial about saving lives or helping people get their life back in order."
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