NATIONAL SPECIALTY DEDICATED TO TREATING ADDICTS

TARA TUCKWILLER'S story, "Methadone: Medicine or menace?" in the May 4
Sunday Gazette-Mail offers a relatively balanced perspective on a very
difficult and complex problem facing West Virginia families who may have a
drug dependent person in their midst. The reporter handled a sensitive and
historically controversial subject with a clear element of professional
expertise.

However, as a treatment professional, I feel compelled to raise a few
points in response to the article and to clarify some of the general
circumstances surrounding the report, which involved Charleston Treatment
Center, a National Specialty Clinics facility.

First, methadone therapy has been widely established as the most effective
treatment for the physical symptoms associated with opiate-based drug
addictions. Methadone treatment regimens have been thoroughly researched by
the nation's leading medical researchers, hospitals and universities and
are endorsed as to their effectiveness by the Office of National Drug
Control Policy in Washington and the federal Department of Health and Human
Services.

National Specialty Clinics is a leader in providing treatment services for
individuals facing the challenges of addiction. The story might leave the
impression with readers that our services are exclusively oriented toward
methadone dosing. This is a common misperception. NSC's treatment program
is specifically designed to place counseling activities at the core of the
overall drive to addiction management and recovery. Methadone serves only
to stabilize the patient physiologically.

Please be assured that trained NSC staff members carefully screen those
seeking addiction treatment. Our medical doctors do not prescribe a course
of medical methadone treatment to a patient unless confirmed drug screening
test results, signs and symptoms clearly indicate it is appropriate for
that patient. We have well-established protocols that are scrupulously
followed by our professional staff. As a part of this protocol, testing for
drugs takes place on the day of admission and then more extensively by an
independent laboratory the following day.

I can't address the comments made by the mother of an adult patient at
Charleston Treatment Center, contained in the May 4 Sunday Gazette-Mail. We
are prohibited by federal law from disclosing patient-specific information
that would lend important context to the matter. NSC's dedicated staff
serves as trusted caregivers for our patients and we cannot breach the
caregiver-patient relationship. As a parent, however, I empathize with the
mother's pain and frustration.

As a general proposition, our collective professional experience leads us
to believe that, all too often, family members are unaware of the true
nature of the addiction challenges being faced by a loved one. Patients
often shield their family from knowledge of the circumstances they are
facing and the treatment they are receiving ... and we are obligated to
honor these desires - no matter how painful it may be for concerned and
loving relatives.

Regarding private vs. public clinics, most patients in opiate addiction
treatment today in the United States are attending private clinics. Private
health care is a substantial element in the United States, but it cannot
and should not replace public, not-for-profit care. There is a need for
both in the system that exists today. Both make an enormous positive impact
on society.

The prevalence of opiate-based drug addiction in West Virginia is,
unfortunately, on the rise. The insidious growth of the illegal drug
industry and the tragic increases in addiction behavior connected with
prescription drugs and heroin means that we have much work to do. We strive
to do so with the support of the community.

National Specialty Clinics is committed to serving and assisting West
Virginians in overcoming the destructive forces of addiction. West Virginia
can be assured that our best medical and professional skills will be
dedicated to this crusade.

Gnass is CEO of National Specialty Clinics, Inc., West Virginia's largest
provider of addiction treatment services, with nine existing or planned
treatment facilities in the state.