Pubdate: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 Source: Times Express, The (PA) Copyright: 2006 Gateway Newspapers Contact: http://www.gatewaynewspapers.com/timesexpress/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4384 Author: Michael Cristiano, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) METHDONE CLINIC GAINS PLANNING OK SECO ROAD BUILDING WOULD BECOME SITE Bethel Park-based Freedom Health Care Services is one step closer to opening a methadone treatment clinic in a building on Seco Road. The company received unanimous approval from Monroeville Planning Commission last week to occupy an empty building at 300 Seco Road and serve approximately 120 clients a day. Freedom Health Care officials said services would consist of methadone treatment in early morning hours and group therapy during late afternoon and evening hours. The treatment center would operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The center would treat various people in an outpatient setting for addiction to opiates including, but not limited to, heroin. Other opiates involved in addictions that would be treated include Oxycontin and Percocet. Tim Grealish, chief compliance officer and director of behavioral health for Free-dom Health Care, said the treatment would be different than what is usually thought of in relation to methadone clinics. He said the clinic would work to take people off drugs through a gradual reduction of methadone and increase in therapy sessions over a six-month to one-year period. "We're not just methadone maintanence .... we work to take patients off drugs," said Grealish. He said the facility would work with both the local district magistrate's office and Gateway School District to deal with narcotics cases. Heroin is an increasing problem for law enforcement officials in Western Pennsylvania, particularly because the drug has become cheaper to buy and is sold in a purer form. The drug in the Pittsburgh area is primarily funneled out of a 4-mile stretch of northern Philadelphia called "Bad-lands," according to the National Drug Intelligence Center. Aside from cosmetic touch-ups on the inside of the building, there would be no work done on the outside infrastructure, according to Freedom's legal counsel, Bonnie Brimmeier. The structure is in compliance with provisions in Pennsylvania Act 10, which requires that methadone treatment facilities not be within 500 feet of residential housing, areas that children would frequent or places of worship, said Brimmeier. Commission members questioned the company's officials about hours of operation and number of clients. Company spokesman Mike Dokmanovich said the ceiling on number of clients would be about 300, but hours would be staggered in the five-day work week. Jack Murray, commission member, asked how clients would receive treatment on weekend days when the clinic wouldn't be open. Grealish said a treatment dosage could last several days, depending on the size of the dosage and the client's body weight. If approved by Monroeville Council, the clinic would be on 1.51 acres. The site is zoned M-1 for planned industrial use. The planning commission also: - - Gave unanimous approval to 4 G's Limited Partnership for construction of a 1,500-square-foot car wash at 4347 Northern Pike. The car wash will be on a southeastern corner. The total area the car wash will be constructed on is 14,604 square feet and is zoned C-2, business commercial. - - Gave unanimous approval to Forbes Regional Hospital for placing five temporary modular buildings on its campus. Each building, approximately 1,960 square feet, will be on an existing parking lot in the northeastern corner of the property. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek