Pubdate: Wed, 06 Jan 1999
Source: York Daily Record (PA)
Contact:  http://www.ydr.com/
Copyright: 1999 The York Daily Record

CLINIC SETS SIGHTS ON COUNTY ADVANCED TREATMENT SYSTEMS  

Plans a methadone treatment center for heroin addicts.

When Advanced Treatment Systems opened in Chester County last May, it
treated about 50 heroin addicts with a daily regimen of methadone.

It now treats more than 125 people.

Another clinic, run by the same company, expects to open in York
County in the next six months, said Jeff Kegley, the system's
executive vice president.

"I've seen a remarkable increase in heroin addiction in just the last
three  or four years," said Kegley, a social worker and administrator,
who has worked  in drug addiction in Pennsylvania since 1981.

Kegley said his company has not signed a lease yet for the facility,
but it will be in a township, not in the city and near a bus line. He
declined to name the township until the lease is signed.

In Coatesville, Chester County, the methadone clinic saw little
opposition from the community. He didn't expect there to be any
problems when the facility opens in York County.

"If you'd walk in here, you'd see husbands and wives and  business
people. This addiction affects anyone," Kegley said.

Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs, an opiate that takes  a
strong  hold on the body, as well as the mind.

Representatives from the York/Adams Drug and Alcohol Program contacted
Kegley last fall about establishing a program in York similar to the
one that the company runs in Chester County.

Steven Warren, the program's administrator, was not available Tuesday
for comment. No one else in the program could answer questions about
the proposed clinic.

"York has a heroin abuse problem and we're getting support from the
local  professionals," Kegley said.

Kegley said the clinic will employ three to four people initially,
including nurses, doctors and counselors. More staff will be added
depending on the need in York County.

The clinic needs approval from the state Department of Health, the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Agency.

Jack McGettigan, health department spokesman, confirmed that Advanced
Treatment Systems applied Dec. 7 for a license to operate  a methadone
clinic. The application is not a public document, so McGettigan could
not give any specifics about the clinic or its location.

Initially patients will go to the clinic daily for a $10 charge for
the methadone dosage, and individual and group counseling.

A majority of the patients, Kegley said, will be private pay. A
handful may qualify for Medicaid, where the state will pay for the
treatment.

Patients typically are on a methadone treatment plan for several
years, until their lives are back together , they have jobs and are
supporting their families.

"At that time, they're ready to get off the methadone. They have too
much to lose at that point to go back on the stuff," Kegley said. "But
they'll still be  involved with counseling at the clinic."

Critics, including those at York's Stepping Stone, don't like  the
idea of treating a drug addiction with another drug.

"No one sets out to be a heroin addict," said Garrison Gladfelter,
Stepping  Stone's community services coordinator. "We don't like the
idea of methadone  clinics, but for some people, that's their only
option."

Gladfelter concurred that heroin use is definitely up in the
county.

"We're seeing it across socioeconomic levels," Gladfelter said. "It's
all about the color green. If you got green, you can have drugs."

Heroin today is about 90 percent pure, Kegley said, making it much
more potent than the 30 percent pure stuff from the 1960s. It also can

be snorted, which is more attractive than the traditional injection
method.

"Now it's way more addictive," Kegley said.

Stepping Stone operated a methadone clinic that closed 10 years ago,
before it changed its philosophy to a detox-followed-by-counseling
program. Since then, patients have traveled to the closest clinic in
Harrisburg for treatment.

"We're hoping that a local program will help more people stay clean,"
Kegley said.

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