Pubdate: Sun, 11 May 2003
Source: Sunday Gazette-Mail (WV)
Copyright: 2003, Sunday Gazette-Mail
Contact:  http://sundaygazettemail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1404
Author: David Gnass

NATIONAL SPECIALTY DEDICATED TO TREATING ADDICTS

TARA TUCKWILLER'S story, "Methadone: Medicine or menace?" in the May 4 
Sunday Gazette-Mail offers a relatively balanced perspective on a very 
difficult and complex problem facing West Virginia families who may have a 
drug dependent person in their midst. The reporter handled a sensitive and 
historically controversial subject with a clear element of professional 
expertise.

However, as a treatment professional, I feel compelled to raise a few 
points in response to the article and to clarify some of the general 
circumstances surrounding the report, which involved Charleston Treatment 
Center, a National Specialty Clinics facility.

First, methadone therapy has been widely established as the most effective 
treatment for the physical symptoms associated with opiate-based drug 
addictions. Methadone treatment regimens have been thoroughly researched by 
the nation's leading medical researchers, hospitals and universities and 
are endorsed as to their effectiveness by the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy in Washington and the federal Department of Health and Human 
Services.

National Specialty Clinics is a leader in providing treatment services for 
individuals facing the challenges of addiction. The story might leave the 
impression with readers that our services are exclusively oriented toward 
methadone dosing. This is a common misperception. NSC's treatment program 
is specifically designed to place counseling activities at the core of the 
overall drive to addiction management and recovery. Methadone serves only 
to stabilize the patient physiologically.

Please be assured that trained NSC staff members carefully screen those 
seeking addiction treatment. Our medical doctors do not prescribe a course 
of medical methadone treatment to a patient unless confirmed drug screening 
test results, signs and symptoms clearly indicate it is appropriate for 
that patient. We have well-established protocols that are scrupulously 
followed by our professional staff. As a part of this protocol, testing for 
drugs takes place on the day of admission and then more extensively by an 
independent laboratory the following day.

I can't address the comments made by the mother of an adult patient at 
Charleston Treatment Center, contained in the May 4 Sunday Gazette-Mail. We 
are prohibited by federal law from disclosing patient-specific information 
that would lend important context to the matter. NSC's dedicated staff 
serves as trusted caregivers for our patients and we cannot breach the 
caregiver-patient relationship. As a parent, however, I empathize with the 
mother's pain and frustration.

As a general proposition, our collective professional experience leads us 
to believe that, all too often, family members are unaware of the true 
nature of the addiction challenges being faced by a loved one. Patients 
often shield their family from knowledge of the circumstances they are 
facing and the treatment they are receiving ... and we are obligated to 
honor these desires - no matter how painful it may be for concerned and 
loving relatives.

Regarding private vs. public clinics, most patients in opiate addiction 
treatment today in the United States are attending private clinics. Private 
health care is a substantial element in the United States, but it cannot 
and should not replace public, not-for-profit care. There is a need for 
both in the system that exists today. Both make an enormous positive impact 
on society.

The prevalence of opiate-based drug addiction in West Virginia is, 
unfortunately, on the rise. The insidious growth of the illegal drug 
industry and the tragic increases in addiction behavior connected with 
prescription drugs and heroin means that we have much work to do. We strive 
to do so with the support of the community.

National Specialty Clinics is committed to serving and assisting West 
Virginians in overcoming the destructive forces of addiction. West Virginia 
can be assured that our best medical and professional skills will be 
dedicated to this crusade.

Gnass is CEO of National Specialty Clinics, Inc., West Virginia's largest 
provider of addiction treatment services, with nine existing or planned 
treatment facilities in the state.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens