PEAVY SWITCH MAKING CHANGES

Lufkin's sole regional inpatient drug treatment center is converting its
services to outpatient care and a halfway house starting next week in
response to a lack of state and private funding, a facility spokeswoman said.

The move will force patients and families needing residential care to
travel several hours for treatment in places like Texarkana, Beaumont,
Dallas or Houston, according to Phyllis Grandgeorge, executive director of
the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas in Lufkin.

The council's office had been referring 20-25 drug-addicted people a month
to the Peavy Switch Recovery Center, Grandgeorge said. Rising numbers of
drug abuse patients are spurred by the jump in methamphetamine addiction,
she said.

For the first time since Peavy Switch began its traditional residential
treatment program in the 1980s, the center will be operating on an
outpatient basis, Susan Rushing, Burke Center chief executive officer said
Wednesday.

The center serves a 12-county area and plans to continue with care that
will include support groups and other therapeutic environments to support
sobriety.

What kind of population will fill the halfway house -- where people
typically stay for transition time after being in residential treatment --
is still not decided, although they are looking at a having a women-only
facility, Rushing said.

Resistance from the state and private insurance to fund longer stays for
drug-addicted patients prompted the restructure, Rushing said.

"We feel like this will better meet the needs of the people that we serve
. in line with what our funders want us to do," Rushing said.

Years before, the average stay for people in drug treatment was 28 days to
two months, Rushing said.

"Our average length to stay is down to just around a week," she said. "It's
all the payors are willing to pay for. It's to the point where we're not
getting enough money to meet our expenses."

Rushing said it was a matter of providing a program with integrity, that
does what it is supposed to do.

Some people will lose their jobs, although administration is working to
help transition them into other jobs, Rushing said. Counselors will simply
change from inpatient to outpatient treatment, she said.

"Peavy is changing. We're not locking down. We're changing," Rushing
emphasized.

Judge Barry Bryan, who oversees adult and juvenile cases in his Angelina
County Court-At-Law No. 2, on Wednesday said he was reserving judgment on
the changes until he could see what effect it has on the court system and
probation departments.

"But the more treatment options that we have locally, the better off we
are," Bryan said.

Grandgeorge was more decided in her response to the center's conversion.
The facility has been their primary referral source, she said.

"We desperately need residential treatment in this area, and from a
placement perspective, we are very concerned about getting individuals that
need it to that facility that will best serve them," she said.

The council typically refers people who are medically indigent, whether
through addiction-related job loss or other problems. Making the drive to
Beaumont is often impossible for them. Non-profit agencies like Love, Inc.
have been vital in providing support in the way of bus tickets, Grandgeorge
said.

The critical need to keep families involved in the recovery process is
badly challenged by the increased distance to treatment, she said.

It's bad enough on families, but it's worse on patients, she added. Riding
a bus that far when you're healthy is hard enough, but that much harder
when you're very sick, she said.

"It's a barrier to treatment for families ... any time you lose
accessibility to treatment, it's going to effect those who need it,"
Grandgeorge said.

Grandgeorge blamed service cutbacks on state government that won't keep its
funding in line with treatment costs, making it difficult for recovery
centers to stay in the business of residential treatment.

She also accused the state of relegating drug-addicted people to jail and
prison time, paying to house them that way instead of paying for treatment
to put them back into society.

"There's no treatment (in jail). They're just there," Grandgeorge said.

The majority of addicts become involved with the criminal system due to
their drug use.

"These are people who come from families who support them and work. They've
just gotten caught up in the disease of addiction and couldn't stop," she said.

On a positive note, Grandgeorge said she was excited at having more
outpatient resources available, which she said were definitely needed.