Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jan 2004
Source: Birmingham News, The (AL)
Copyright: 2004 The Birmingham News
Contact:  http://al.com/birminghamnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/45
Author: Joseph D. Bryant
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)

SHELBY METHADONE CLINIC GETS APPROVAL

State health officials Wednesday approved a proposal to open the first 
methadone clinic in Shelby County.

Despite the objections of county leaders, the state Certificate of Need 
Board during a hearing in Montgomery granted applicants permission to 
establish the clinic.

Applicants Susan Staats-Sidwell and Dr. Glenn Archibald plan to open the 
clinic at an undetermined site in Calera, though the board's approval 
applies anywhere in Shelby County. Staats-Sidwell is executive director of 
Northwest Alabama Treatment Center, a methadone clinic in Bessemer; 
Archibald is a psychiatrist.

"We're going to take this very seriously and make Shelby County proud to 
have us here," Staats-Sidwell said.

She said the clinic would serve Shelby County addicts who otherwise have to 
drive daily to clinics in Bessemer, Homewood, Roebuck or at the University 
of Alabama at Birmingham for treatment.

Methadone is a prescribed drug taken by mouth to reduce the desire for 
drugs such as painkillers and heroin. It must be given under the direction 
of health professionals.

The proposed clinic drew the ire of Shelby County officials, who sent a 
letter of protest to the board. The Shelby County Commission adopted the 
letter in November after Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry said methadone 
clinics might aggravate the drug problem rather than help cure it.

"My job was to voice a law enforcement perspective, and that's what I did," 
Curry said. "I felt like the basis for that opposition was sound." The 
Shelby County Police Chiefs Association also sent a letter of objection.

While their protests were sent to the board and put on file, no official 
objection was discussed during Wednesday's hearing. According to personnel 
with the State Health Planning and Development Agency, no group or agency 
followed the procedure required to file a formal objection.

"The process wasn't real clear to any of us," Curry said.

The county has little recourse for an appeal, other than filing a lawsuit 
against the clinic.

County Commissioner Earl Cunningham, who proposed the county's letter of 
opposition, said he would not seek to fight the board's decision.

"I still share the same view, but mine is philosophically based," 
Cunningham said. "They have spoken, and that's it. ... We don't like it, 
but we'll abide by their decision."

Organizers have a year to open the clinic. While they must file requests 
and paperwork with a few more state agencies, Staats-Sidwell said 
Wednesday's decision removed the main obstacle, and that everything else is 
a technicality.

Following the applicants' presentation Wednesday, Dr. Swaid N. Swaid, the 
board's chairman, expressed his support for methadone treatment.

"The methadone has been a great big help to a lot of people. This cuts 
across socioeconomic class in our society," Swaid said. "I have personally 
seen the benefits of methadone programs."

But Swaid said clinic operators should turn from their description of 
methadone as a lifelong treatment and aim toward addicts' eventual 
abstinence from chemicals altogether.

Several methadone patients attended the meeting, including Rick Thompson, a 
Montevallo resident who drives almost an hour each way to a Jefferson 
County clinic.

He said a methadone clinic in Shelby County would make treatment accessible 
to those who are isolated. "There are so many people in Shelby County that 
want help and can't get to it," he said.

Organizers did not have a time frame for opening the Calera clinic. 
Archibald promised to be sensitive to the needs of residents when selecting 
a location.

"We'll be looking for the ideal place for this clinic, possibly in an 
industrial area, to appease some of the people that may feel concerned 
about such a facility coming into their neighborhood," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman