METHADONE CLINIC IN DANGER OF CLOSING

Heroin addicts could have nowhere in Kelowna to go for methadone
treatment by next month.

The only methadone clinic of its kind in the city will shut down its
Lawrence Avenue office by the end of December if a doctor doesn't
agree to work there at least one day a week.

Dr. Michael Dowey, who's based in Vancouver, commutes to Kelowna once
a week to see his patients. Unless a partner joins him at the Gardell
and Associates clinic, addicts on the methadone program will have to
travel as far as Kamloops to get their prescriptions.

"We're looking at having to phase out this service at the end of
December," said Ed Birkenthal, the clinic's director.

"I've been trying to get another local physician to work in that
clinic. . . . Unfortunately, we've had no success whatsoever.

"A lot of them say they're so busy, they don't have time."

Lisa, a 29-year-old addict who asked that her name be changed, says
her car isn't roadworthy and she can't afford a return bus ticket to
Kamloops every two weeks. She's been hooked on heroin since she was
16.

"I don't want to lose the clinic. I don't know what I'll do," she said
Thursday. "If it wasn't for the program, I wouldn't have my life
together. I could become one of those street-level users."

Methadone is a long-lasting, synthetic narcotic that's taken orally.
With the correct dose, a user doesn't get high, sick or sedated. Users
can function without the cravings that often lead to break-ins,
robberies and other crimes.

"It's a lot better for you. You don't have to worry about where your
next fix is coming from," said Lisa.

The private clinic opened in November 2003. In August, part-time staff
were treating more than 50 users. Each client paid $65 a month for
counselling, testing and assessment.

Gardell and Associates has four doctors at its Nanaimo office and
eight at its Vancouver office. A doctor shortage in Kelowna may be
contributing to the lack of interest in joining the clinic, said Birkenthal.

But help may be coming. Officials with Interior Health discussed the
problem in a conference call Thursday. They're working with a "group
of interested physicians" who may continue providing the service in
Kelowna, said Jennifer Rice, medical director of the Okanagan Health
Service Association.

"We all have an interest in seeing it continue," she said. "We're
working with all the physicians who provide methadone services across
Interior Health. The idea is to form a network of support for these
physicians and attract and recruit new physicians into the group."

It's doubtful the service will continue at the same clinic, Rice said.
She wouldn't specify where it will be available or who will staff it.