Whether they like it our not, residents of Antis Township should have a new medical neighbor come September.
\nStephen K. Shaner, part owner of Alliance Medical Services Inc. of Pittsburgh, announced last evening to the board of supervisors that he plans to open a Methadone clinic in Bellmeade, near Splinter\u2019s.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s face it, whether you want to believe it or not, you have a problem here,\u201d said Shaner. \u201cWe\u2019re not offering a solution to the problem, but a possible way out for the people here who are addicted to opiate-based substances.\u201d
\nA clinic provides addicts with a daily dose of methadone, 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 drug\u2019s active chemicals.
\nThe clinic is proposed to be placed on land owned by Brinton Simington. Simington said he has signed an agreement with Allied Medical Services Inc. to build and lease a building to the group.
\nSimington said he has a special reason for wanting the clinic in Antis Township. His 22-year-old nephew died from a heroin overdose because he refused to drive the two hours daily to Harrisburg to receive methadone treatment.
\nThe topic was met with tough resistance immediately.
\nDuring Simington\u2019s opening remarks to the board, before offering any information about what exactly the clinic is and how it operates, he asked if anyone in the room would be opposed \u201cto this kind of facility\u201d in Antis Township.
\nBefore the question was even out of his mouth, dozens of hands in the audience shot into the air, as did the arms of supervisors Ron Gensamer and Charles Taylor. No one present said they supported the concept.
\nRegardless of how the residents and supervisors feel, there\u2019s really nothing they can do to stop it.
\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 Mr. Simington purchases all the proper building permits, he can lease the building to anyone he wishes.
\nResidents in attendance questioned Shaner as to why he wanted to locate a facility in Antis Township. One person mentioned the only reason was because Antis Township doesn\u2019t have zoning.
\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said Shaner. \u201cBut that\u2019s only a small part of it. The main reason though is its accessibility.\u201d
\nHe said it would reach people hoping to overcome their addictions from north of Tyrone and south of Altoona. He also said 40 people who are traveling to Johnstown everyday for treatment can transfer to the new clinic.
\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, according to Blair County Commissioner John Eichelberger, who showed up at last evening\u2019s meeting just to offer his input, every county resident is within a 60-minute drive of a clinic. One is operated in Johnstown by Shaner\u2019s group. The other is a new facility in Curwensville that opened just two months ago.
\n Shaner said the facility in Antis Township would be similar to the one in Johnstown. He said this clinic sees a younger clientele, whereas the clinic in Pittsburgh treats an older client list.
\nHe 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.
\n\u201cWho\u2019s going to pay for this treatment?\u201d asked Gensamer.
\nShaner explained that 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
\nQuestions were raised concerning the safety factors that are associated with the facility. Antis Township doesn\u2019t employ a police force and relies on Hollidaysburg-based state police for law enforcement.
\nShaner explained that in his four years in operating clinics, police have never been called.
\n\u201cThese aren\u2019t dangerous places,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople coming in will receive their treatment and leave. It\u2019s really about a five to ten minute process.\u201d
\nRay Amato, vice-chair of the board, asked Shaner about residency at the clinic, but the businessman explained that only outpatient services will be offered.
\nSupervisor Charles Taylor felt that patients use the clinics as a supplement to their habits.
\n\u201cThat definitely happens, but within a couple months, we\u2019ll be able to filter those people out,\u201d said Shaner, explaining the group performs urine testing. \u201cWe don\u2019t want these people addicted to opiate-based substances and that\u2019s exactly why we want to be here.\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 an addiction, that\u2019s the way they need to go.\u201d
\nSupervisors agreed that if enough of the residents of Antis Township express an opinion about the clinic, a town meeting will be scheduled. Shaner said he would be happy to attend and answer questions.
\n\u201cThis kind of facility doesn\u2019t come without controversy,\u201d said Shaner. \u201cBut six months after the clinic opens and the controversy dies down, nobody will even know we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Whether they like it our not, residents of Antis Township should have a new medical neighbor come September. Stephen K. Shaner, part owner of Alliance Medical Services Inc. of Pittsburgh, announced last evening to the board of supervisors that he plans to open a Methadone clinic in Bellmeade, near Splinter\u2019s. \u201cLet\u2019s face it, whether you […]<\/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-46712","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\/46712","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=46712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46712\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}