METHADONE CLINIC GETS STATE PERMIT

Company Still Must Clear Hurdles Before It Can Open In Jasper County

BY JESSICA FLATHMANN, The Island Packet Published Wednesday, June 8th, 2005
Recovering drug addicts throughout the Lowcountry should have better access
to treatment this summer.

The state gave official permission for a methadone clinic to prepare to
open off of S.C. 170 in Jasper County. But before the clinic can begin
operating, it needs federal approval to distribute methadone and state
confirmation that it's staffed and set up properly.

"We have given them a permit ... that says we're approving you to operate
this type of facility," said Albert Whiteside, director of the state
Department of Health and Environmental Control's Division of Planning and
Certificate of Need. The approval, called a certificate of need, was issued
April 26.

Dr. Bill Scott, a partner in the planned Jasper County facility called
Recovery Concepts, said the clinic is being prepared. The facility is
working with the state health licensing division and the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration to get the necessary approvals to open.

"We're in the inspection process and hiring," Scott said.

Ruth Porter-Whipple, a drug enforcement spokeswoman, said the clinic had
applied for federal approval, which is required for any doctor, pharmacist
or other entity legally distributing drugs. The application can't be
considered until all the state's approvals have been issued. The agency
specifically looks at how the clinic will keep its records and how it will
keep the methadone secure.

Randy Clark, director of the state health facilities oversight program,
said the clinic was in the process of being licensed by the state.

Scott said the facility already is getting calls from potential clients.

"We've been hearing some from patients, mostly, 'When are you open?' "
Scott said. The nearest clinics are in Charleston and Savannah.

Methadone is a drug given to recovering addicts to break their dependency
on substances such as heroin, morphine, OxyContin and other opioid drugs.
Methadone keeps people physically dependent but without the extreme highs
and lows in mood brought on by the other opioids.

The treatment eliminates the withdrawal symptoms for between 24 and 36
hours when given daily, according to the federal Office of National Drug
Control Policy.

The clinic in Jasper County originally was given state approval in August
2004, but an appeal by a competing applicant held up the final issuance.
Judge John Geathers, with the Administrative Law Court, said in an April
ruling that the state could give permission for the Jasper County clinic to
open while still considering the application from a Pennsylvania-based
group to open a similar clinic in greater Bluffton.

Geathers said in his ruling the state erred by considering the two projects
in competition with each other. In August, the state denied the permit for
the greater Bluffton clinic in favor of the clinic in Jasper County.

Whiteside said the state has received a letter from the Pennsylvania group
asking to set up a meeting to discuss the application and see if any
updates are needed. Officials with the group couldn't be reached for
comment Tuesday.