METHADONE CLINIC SOUGHT IN SHELBY COUNTY

Application Must Go Through Public Comment Process

Some of Susan Staats-Sidwell's clients drive almost 90 miles round
trip from Shelby County to her Bessemer clinic, seeking an alternative
to the illegal drugs they crave.

"It's amazing how many people get help," she said.

Staats-Sidwell said those addicts must make the daily trek to her
clinic or others in Jefferson County because there are no clinics in
Shelby County that can meet their needs.

That's why the executive director of Northwest Alabama Treatment
Center said she applied to the state for permission to open a
methadone maintenance clinic in Shelby County. The clinic, proposed
for Calera, would be the first of its kind in the county.

Staats-Sidwell and partner Dr. Glenn Archibald recently submitted
their request to the state Health Planning and Development Agency.

"When there's not enough doctors to treat this disease, then there's a
continuing problem with crime," Staats-Sidwell said. "These are not
bad people; these are people with a disease."

Opiate replacement centers distribute methadone, a drug taken by mouth
to reduce the physical desire for illegal drugs such as painkillers
and heroin. The methadone must be prescribed and administered by
health professionals.

There are four methadone programs in Jefferson County.

"It's not like people are going to be driving from Jefferson County to
Shelby County," Staats-Sidwell said. "They are there. The addict is
there. We're just going to help them."

The Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
statistics for 2002 report 52 residents of Shelby County received
service from a state-certified agency for drug addiction. Health
officials said that number could be higher if statistics from police
departments and other agencies are counted.

Dr. Norman Huggins, director of substance abuse programs at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the state Department of
Mental Health limits the number of clients methadone clinics can treat
based on the number of staff members available. This has created a
need for more centers, he said.

"Methadone clinics now are required to be certified by state
regulatory agencies and national agencies so the standard of care can
be equivalent in all methadone clinics," Huggins said.

Methadone has been used for more than 30 years in drug therapy.
Huggins said most of the clients he sees are addicted to prescription
pain medications, not heroin. Therefore, the image of the dangerous
junkie loitering around clinics for a cheap high is incorrect, he said.

"Opiate addiction is a non-discriminatory disease; it affects
everybody," Huggins said. "We're seeing a lot of what you call
pharmaceutical narcotics."

The clinics are private, for-profit organizations whose services
generally are not covered by insurance. Clients typically pay $11 a
day for a dose of methadone. "There are a lot of requirements to keep
it open," Staats-Sidwell said. "We go through tons of scrutiny, so we
have to be efficient."

All methadone clinics must have a psychiatrist, nurse and pharmacist
on staff to administer the dosage. Like the Bessemer clinic,
Staats-Sidwell said, the Calera center would open and close in the
morning. The Bessemer clinic opens from 6 to 10 a.m.

Staats-Sidwell's application for a certificate of need must go through
a public comment process. Opponents and supporters may contact the
state by Dec. 8 to express their opinions. Staats-Sidwell expects a
decision on her application in January or February.