BENNINGTON — An outpatient addiction treatment provider with a strong presence in Massachusetts plans to open a center in Bennington this month and is considering facilities in at least two other Vermont communities.
Experience Wellness Centers will open a center at 339 Dewey St., a medical office building, according to Sharon Shepard, the company’s vice president and general manager.
The site was vacated recently by United Counseling Service, which offered similar medication assisted treatment and counseling services before a state grant providing funding for that program was discontinued.
Shepard said the site will be used until permanent quarters in Bennington can be secured. She said the building owner, Southwestern Vermont Health Care, the corporate parent of the nearby medical center, has plans for use of the building, beginning early in 2019.
Experience Wellness Centers offers outpatient treatment programs for people struggling with opioid or alcohol addiction who are on the road to recovery. The company serves about 1,500 patients in Massachusetts, at locations in North Adams and Pittsfield in Berkshire County, as well as in Springfield and Worcester, according to Shepard.
She said treatment programs offered utilize Suboxone (buprenorphine) or Vivitrol (naltrexone) and are centered around counseling and case management for patients. Unlike a clinic providing methadone or other medications on a daily basis, she said the center will work with people moving toward recovery who are provided with a prescription for their medication, usually once a week.
The company also has its own laboratory in Chicopee, Mass., she said, providing toxicology analysis for monitoring the progress of those in treatment, primarily through urine testing.
The Bennington center won’t have a limit on the number of patients it can accept, Shepard said, as the company is committed to providing “whatever resources are needed” to treat those requiring services.
She added that Experience Wellness Centers will cooperate with United Counseling Service in providing the counseling portion of the addiction treatment.
Springfield eyed
Other Vermont sites are also being eyed by EWC, Shepard said, including Springfield and at least one other community she declined to name at this time.
The treatment center will operate as a major spoke in the state’s Hub and Spoke medication assisted treatment system in Bennington County, Shepard said.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, said he was pleased to see another treatment facility in the area.
“Our area of the state is underserved currently, and I appreciate all those who have stepped up to provide treatment services for those with substance abuse problems,” Sears said. “We can’t stop until we can ensure that treatment on demand is available to those who are willing to participate.”
According to the state Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, Acadia Healthcare Inc. intends to open in Bennington what will become a hub for local treatment services, designated as an Opioid Treatment Program and able to provide daily dose methadone or Suboxone and other addiction services.
It is expected to be open 24 hours per day and accept as many patients as required.
Acadia is now seeking certification for the planned facility through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. No site for the hub facility has yet been announced.
The company currently operates an addiction treatment center in Vermont in the Brattleboro 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.
Shepard said Experience Wellness Centers expects to cooperate with the planned Acadia center and with other providers in the Bennington area to help forge a network of addiction treatment services.
