METHDONE CLINIC GAINS PLANNING OK SECO ROAD BUILDING
WOULD BECOME SITE

Bethel Park-based Freedom Health Care Services is one step closer to
opening a methadone treatment clinic in a building on Seco Road.

The company received unanimous approval from Monroeville Planning
Commission last week to occupy an empty building at 300 Seco Road and
serve approximately 120 clients a day.

Freedom Health Care officials said services would consist of methadone
treatment in early morning hours and group therapy during late
afternoon and evening hours.

The treatment center would operate from 6 a.m. to 8
p.m.

The center would treat various people in an outpatient setting for
addiction to opiates including, but not limited to, heroin.

Other opiates involved in addictions that would be treated include
Oxycontin and Percocet.

Tim Grealish, chief compliance officer and director of behavioral
health for Free-dom Health Care, said the treatment would be different
than what is usually thought of in relation to methadone clinics.

He said the clinic would work to take people off drugs through a
gradual reduction of methadone and increase in therapy sessions over a
six-month to one-year period.

"We're not just methadone maintanence .... we work to take patients
off drugs," said Grealish.

He said the facility would work with both the local district
magistrate's office and Gateway School District to deal with narcotics
cases.

Heroin is an increasing problem for law enforcement officials in
Western Pennsylvania, particularly because the drug has become cheaper
to buy and is sold in a purer form.

The drug in the Pittsburgh area is primarily funneled out of a 4-mile
stretch of northern Philadelphia called "Bad-lands," according to the
National Drug Intelligence Center.

Aside from cosmetic touch-ups on the inside of the building, there
would be no work done on the outside infrastructure, according to
Freedom's legal counsel, Bonnie Brimmeier.

The structure is in compliance with provisions in Pennsylvania Act 10,
which requires that methadone treatment facilities not be within 500
feet of residential housing, areas that children would frequent or
places of worship, said Brimmeier.

Commission members questioned the company's officials about hours of
operation and number of clients.

Company spokesman Mike Dokmanovich said the ceiling on number of
clients would be about 300, but hours would be staggered in the
five-day work week.

Jack Murray, commission member, asked how clients would receive
treatment on weekend days when the clinic wouldn't be open.

Grealish said a treatment dosage could last several days, depending on
the size of the dosage and the client's body weight.

If approved by Monroeville Council, the clinic would be on 1.51 acres.
The site is zoned M-1 for planned industrial use.

The planning commission also:

- - Gave unanimous approval to 4 G's Limited Partnership for
construction of a 1,500-square-foot car wash at 4347 Northern Pike.

The car wash will be on a southeastern corner.

The total area the car wash will be constructed on is 14,604 square
feet and is zoned C-2, business commercial.

- - Gave unanimous approval to Forbes Regional Hospital for placing five
temporary modular buildings on its campus.

Each building, approximately 1,960 square feet, will be on an existing
parking lot in the northeastern corner of the property.