New methadone clinic will open Monday
Published Thursday August 6th, 2009
SAINT JOHN - The city's new methadone treatment clinic in St. Joseph's Community Health Centre doesn't even officially open until Monday and, already, there's a waiting list of 177 clients.
In the first three weeks, nurse practitioner Dana Manzer expects to see about 50 opiate addicts - those dependent on drugs such as Dilaudid and heroin.
Starting today, nurse practitioner Dana Manzer will start seeing patients who have booked appointments; she has already treated several people, most of whom have been referred by AIDS Saint John.
Manzer is the clinic's primary caregiver, working with infectious diseases specialist Dr. Duncan Webster, who works at the clinic one morning a week.
"I'm very excited," Manzer said. "It's nice to see it all come together. We had all of this furniture donated anonymously. We couldn't have done it (opened the clinic) without it. I'm really pleased about that."
Methadone is a synthetic opiate narcotic that, when administered once a day and in adequate doses, can usually suppress a heroin addict's craving and withdrawal for 24 hours.
The new clinic, which allows addicts to refer themselves for treatment, complements a program at Ridgewood Addiction Services, located in South Bay. It is the first of its kind in the province and is different from the methadone maintenance program at Ridgewood, which provides addicts with methadone and social services such as counselling.
While counselling is a requirement at Ridgewood, it's not a mandatory condition of the new clinic. The program will not have a limit to the number of people it can treat, while Ridgewood has a limited number of spaces.
In addition to treatment with methadone, the clinic also provides addicts with diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic diseases, sexual health treatment, immunizations and referrals to other community-based services.
Appointments are preferred, but Manzer stresses she will not turn drop-ins away.
"Nobody grew up wanting to be an addict. This is not what they aspired to be."
In addition to self-referral, clients may be referred by their health-care service provider or through the criminal justice system.
To book an appointment, call 632-5795.
Experts say that treating addicts costs $6,000 and $10,000 a year, while an untreated addict can cost society on average $49,000 a year, just to process them through the justice system.
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i agree with you colin why not have the clinic out in the middle of nowhere where these people can get away from the bad influences?
It is because they made a choice and continue to make a choice. They refuse to make a choice to get off the drugs so now we are supporting their choosen habits with a synthetic opiate narcotic. That tax dollar money could be better served elsewhere in the community then to continue to waste it on people who choose and continue to chose that lifestyle.
D Murray: While the first use of narcotics may be a choice, after addicted, there is no choice! We need to understand the entry points into adiction so we can be armed into ways to prevent that first choice to use drugs! Prevention works far better than trying to treat addictions even if those programs wouldn't be as 'sexy' as saying they are helping the downtrodden addicted!
If it is so easy to make a choice NOT to use drugs once addicted, then why would anyone CHOOSE to continue using drugs? It is because they don't have a choice. Now I am all for folks taking responsibility for themselves and I abhor the 'excuses' that we hear for all kinds of things but when it comes to addiction, I can understand just how strong that pull is. I personally would like to know how to prevent, guide, help my children NOT to use drugs that first time and I'd like to know what the triggers are so I can bolster my defenses against it. We amy not be able to help those currently addicted and I don't agree with molly coddling them, but I certainly would like to prevent any one else from becoming addicted.