Blueprints are being studied. Permits are flowing through the proper channels. Excavation work has begun. By September, residents in Northern Blair County will have a new medical neighbor with the proposed Methadone treatment clinic in Bellmeade, near Splinter\u2019s.
\n\u201cWeather permitting, we\u2019ll start putting the foundation in within the next two weeks,\u201d said Stephen K. Shaner, co-owner of Alliance Medical Service, Inc., the group establishing the facility. \u201cI\u2019d like to have it up and running in September. That\u2019s the goal.\u201d
\nThe proposed clinic would provide recovering heroin addicts with a daily dose of methadone, a chemical designed to not only suppress the body\u2019s requirement of the drug, but also suppress the symptoms of withdrawal when the body isn\u2019t being affected by the substance\u2019s active chemicals.
\nLast month, when the topic was raised by landowner Brinton Simington at a meeting of the Antis Township Board of Supervisors, it was met with harsh resistance. Numerous people in attendance voiced their opposition as township leaders questioned Shaner and Simington about the proposal.
\nWho will pay for treatment? How many people will there patients there? How do we protect ourselves?
\nChairman Supervisor Leo Matuszewski explained to those in attendance the supervisors have little control over businesses that want to locate in the township. He said as long as Simington purchases all the proper building permits, he can lease the building to anyone he wishes.
\nHe noted that he called the media\u2019s attention to the meeting so the word could get out what is coming into the township. He said if enough people voiced their concerns, a public meeting would be scheduled.
\nAs of this morning, supervisors in Antis Township haven\u2019t informed The Daily Herald of a date for such a gathering; however, two other groups have scheduled forums for public input.
\nThe Blair County Drug and Crime Awareness Committee have asked residents to write down some comments, sign the paper and be prepared to speak at a forum scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. this evening in the Logan Elementary School gymnasium. Those speaking will be asked to keep their presentation short.
\nAlso, this week, members of the Bellemead Civic Association passed flyers out throughout Antis and Logan townships and Bellwood Borough informing residents of a public forum tomorrow evening beginning at 7 p.m. at the Pinecroft Fire Hall.
\nShaner said his company will be represented at both meetings.
\n\u201cThe goal of coming up is to basically help people who have some concerns, recognize the strong benefits to the individuals who use the program,\u201d said Shaner, who is expecting to see between 100 and 150 people tomorrow evening, \u201cas well as the strong benefits to the community.
\n\u201cThis is a much needed service for the residents of Blair County,\u201d Shaner said in an interview with The Daily Herald this week. \u201cRight now, about 30 percent of the patients who use the Johnstown clinic are from right here in this area. These people are traveling an hour both ways to seek voluntary treatment.
\n\u201cIf there\u2019s a clinic here, more people of this area can get the treatment they need,\u201d said Shaner, \u201cand meanwhile, continue to live their everyday life \u2013 whether that be going to school, working, whatever.\u201d
\nAccording to Shaner, the commonwealth will mandate in January that every resident in Pennsylvania must live within a one-hour drive of a methadone clinic. Currently, every resident does live within one hour of a clinic. Shaner operates facilities in both Johnstown and Pittsburgh. Just a few months ago, a clinic was established in Curwensville, Clearfield County.
\nHe said the facility in Antis Township would be similar to the one in Johnstown. This clinic, he said, will see a younger client base, whereas the clinic in Pittsburgh treats older clientele.
\nShaner explained that methadone clinics are heavily scrutinized and regulated by the state government. He said the state would most likely initially license the facility for about 70 patients, and depending upon the interest and success rate, additional licenses could be granted.
\nHe said 50 to 60 percent of all costs associated with treatment is subsidized by the state and county. The remainder of the bill comes from the patient\u2019s pocket.
\n\u201cYou have to understand that people taking methadone are people that want to get help,\u201d said Shaner. \u201cThese people aren\u2019t court ordered to be here. They are sick and tired of being sick and tired. They want help.\u201d
\nDespite calling methadone a \u201clife-sustaining medication,\u201d Shaner expressed the importance that the treatment may not be for everyone, especially in the case of young people.
\n\u201cThe younger users shouldn\u2019t necessarily think methadone is the way out right away,\u201d said Shaner. \u201cIn some cases, yes. But for people who haven\u2019t been addicted to opiates for that long of a period of time, I believe other drug-free attempts should be made first. But if methadone is the only way to control the addiction, that\u2019s the way they need to go.\u201d
\nShaner said he expected opposition when the proposal was announced, but said he wasn\u2019t worried about the chatter early.
\n\u201cThis kind of facility doesn\u2019t come without controversy dies down, nobody will even know we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blueprints are being studied. Permits are flowing through the proper channels. Excavation work has begun. By September, residents in Northern Blair County will have a new medical neighbor with the proposed Methadone treatment clinic in Bellmeade, near Splinter\u2019s. \u201cWeather permitting, we\u2019ll start putting the foundation in within the next two weeks,\u201d said Stephen K. Shaner, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46610\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}