Community Health Alliance, 3606 Commerce Drive, opened in May 2022 and now offers its patients methadone, said Scott Gehring, president and CEO.
The need for evidence-based addiction treatment continues to grow in Southwest Ohio, Dugger said. BrightView’s Middletown addiction treatment center can serve over 700 area residents in a discreet outpatient setting and will create more than 15 full-time jobs locally, she said.
In addition, unemployment rates among BrightView patients decrease by 50% on average in the first 90 days of treatment, according to Dugger.
The goal at BrightView is to provide every patient care that provides them long-term recovery, said Regional Outreach Director Keitha Siler.
“There is nothing more important to us than saving lives,” Siler said.
The Butler Count Coroner’s Office reported 130 fatal drug overdoses in 2023, according to preliminary results. There were 184 overdoses in 2022, and the all-time record of 232 was set in 2017, according to an official.
Dugger said BrightView’s outpatient addiction treatment program is comprehensive, providing individual counseling, group therapy, social services and medication for addiction treatment (MAT) to address the full range of challenges associated with substance use disorder.
Each program is individualized to meet the goals and needs of every patient, which ensures the best long-term success, Dugger said. The “full-circle program” includes doctors, nurses and counselors, she said.
“We are row in the same direction,” Dugger said. “It’s all about managing, even when addiction is the problem.”
In its first two years, Community Health Alliance is seeing 250 patients and expects to double that number by 2025, he said.
“The need is going,” said Gehring, who added methadone is “a tool that reduces the severity of the sickness.”
The center starts administering methadone at 5 a.m. so patients can receive it before first shift work, he said. Methadone helps ease withdraw and reduce cravings, he said.
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