[B]ENNINGTON — A national health care company wants to establish an opioid addiction treatment center in Bennington, a move that state health officials believe would secure access for all residents who need services.
However, a lack of information about when an Acadia Healthcare Inc. center might arrive here, where it will be located and how it will operate has sparked concern among some of those now offering treatment services.
United Counseling Service, which has operated a medication-assisted opioid addiction treatment program since 2016, is at the same time losing its state grant funding as of the end of December.
Staff members said they and their approximately 50 clients are growing more concerned as that closing date approaches. They say they’ve received very few details about the proposed new facility, which state officials confirmed is proposed by Acadia Healthcare.
The company operates a network of nearly 600 behavioral health care facilities in 40 states, the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico, including the Brattleboro Comprehensive Treatment Center in Vermont.
Acadia officials could not be reached for comment on the proposed facility.
Lorna Mattern, the executive director at UCS, said her staff unsuccessfully appealed the decision to cut the local program’s $282,000 annual grant, after being notified of that action by state officials in February.
The program, according to Mattern and Paul Dilonno, director of outpatient services for UCS, has functioned effectively, and it remains unclear what will replace the program’s daily-dosage treatment for clients with Suboxone (buprenorphine) and related group and individual counseling.
Mattern said UCS understands that with any grant-funded program, the provider has a responsibility to plan for the transition of clients to other programs should that prove necessary.
“The difficulty we are facing,” she added, “is that there are no providers in our community to transition our clients to. ADAP [the state Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs] is ending our grant in December, and no date has been set for Acadia to start providing services. During that period of time, which will be months, appropriate treatment options will not be available for people seeking help.”
Many of the UCS clients have made good progress, Mattern said, often after first failing to break their addiction with other medically assisted programs or previously with the UCS program. She said that illustrates the critical need for a smooth transition to other services.
“We have a lot of hard-working clients who feel like the carpet is being pulled out from under them,” Mattern said.
“It is important to note that this program was successful,” Dilonno said. “It met the grant requirements. It was nothing we were doing or not doing.”
UCS learned from the state in February that its Intensive Medication Assisted Treatment Program, providing medication as part of a treatment, would lose its funding. Initially, Dilonno said, the UCS program was to end on June 30, but that date has been pushed back to Dec. 30.
He and Mattern said they’ve argued for another extension for several months, until effective treatment options for UCS clients are available in the Bennington area.
Federal application process
According to ADAP officials, Acadia Healthcare has applied for federal certification to open a facility in Bennington. They said they could not provide further details at this point, and that the process takes place on the federal level and does not involve state funding, although the state will have a regulatory role.
“It’s outside the state’s purview,” Megan Mitchell, director of Clinical Services with the ADAP division, said of the application process to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The certification process was not instigated through a request for proposals from the state, she said.
“I can’t speak about a physical location; I can’t speak to a timetable,” Mitchell said. “We don’t have a location we can talk about now.”
Contacted on Monday, Phil Walls, press officer with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said, “Unfortunately, we can’t release any information on a facility that is in the certification process.”
Bennington Planning Director Daniel Monks said Monday that he has received no information about use of a site in town for a new treatment center.
Mitchell said the state supports the Acadia application because the proposed center would provide “comprehensive services and increased access in the community.”
The center would be open seven days a week, said Anthony Folland, manager of Clinical Services with the State Opiate Treatment Authority, and the facility could accept as many patients as required.
With other programs, Folland said, the number that could be accepted is linked to the federal treatment certification of the given physician. During the first year a doctor applies to offer medication-assisted addiction treatment, they are limited to 30 patients, he said, and they must apply after that year for revised certifications to increase the number.
When a physician with numerous patients retires or leaves, Folland said, that can lead to disruptions or treatment delays within the area.
“We are pleased to report that one of our Vermont opiate specialty providers will be opening an Opiate Treatment Program (OTP) in Bennington,” Cynthia Thomas, director of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, said in an email. “The provider will be taking over the large specialty spoke and converting the program to an OTP.”
ADAP officials said the state hopes the new program can be coordinated with addiction treatment services still being offered through United Counseling Service or other providers in the area.
Headquartered in Franklin, Tenn., Acadia Healthcare operates a network of behavioral health facilities across the country. According to its website, the company provides psychiatric and chemical dependency services to its patients in a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and therapeutic school-based programs.
State Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, said Monday, “My conversations with ADAP have always been about providing comprehensive services including secure Suboxone and methadone services to folks in Bennington County. The goal was always to create a mini-hub in the Hub and Spoke system for treatment.”
He added, “I hope that there will be a smooth transition for UCS clients. … Ultimately, the most important thing is that a wide variety of treatment services are needed to fight this epidemic. I hope Acadia will be able to provide those services.”
