New addiction treatment center opens in West Chester

A Florida-based residential and detox treatment center has opened its newest facility in West Chester as the township continues its eight-month moratorium on any new drug addiction rehabilitation centers.

The Lumiere Healing Center will provide residential treatment and medical detox services at its 60-bed facility now open at 7593 Tylers Place.

The center was approved last year, before trustees in April placed an eight-month moratorium on any new drug addiction rehabilitation centers, even as they acknowledged the need for them.

The issue arose after a Mason doctor presented a plan to turn a vacant nursing home into a rehab center that residents say would be too close to a day care, ball fields and Lakota students.

“We do need facilities like this,” Trustee George Lang said in April. “So this is not about regulating these businesses out of the township. It is, in my opinion, about looking at the potential secondary effects that may be detrimental to neighboring property owners and looking for ways to mitigate the negative impact.”

Lumiere will help the area combat a growing opiate and heroin epidemic, according to Paul Sandhu, the company’s CEO.

“We appreciate the opportunity to provide substance abuse treatment services,” he said. “Our mission is to unite with the tri-state area and combat the opiate and heroin addiction epidemic.”

The Butler County Coroner’s Office said 189 people died from drug overdoses in 2015, and 149, or 79 percent, were heroin-related — including heroin, fentanyl or a combination of both.

Last year was the second straight year that drug overdoses were the leading cause of death among coroner’s office cases. The 189 deaths were a 38-percent increase above 2014’s record-breaking number of 137.

She added that the center wants to support state leaders, treatment professionals, families, educators, law enforcement and the legal system to deal with addiction in the county and surrounding area.

State Rep. Margy Conditt, R-Liberty Twp, was also at the ribbon-cutting and she feels that Lumiere can help save lives and will be a benefit to Butler County.

“It is a beautiful facility and there is a great need for it in this area and all of Ohio,” Conditt said. “The fact that they chose to come to West Chester and southwest Ohio is a great move.”

State Sen.Coley, R-Liberty Twp., said he is troubled by the growing number of people dying from heroin.

“The problem with heroin is out of control and I told the director of the center that I was with the governor of Maine earlier this week and he told me that they were having five deaths per week from heroin and I said, heck, we are having about that many deaths per week in my county,” Coley said.

“It is really out of control and it is really important that facilities such as this come in and help us out with the problem,” he said.

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