Before Regina Belser began going to a methadone clinic, she said her life revolved around her addiction. The time was spent where and when she was going to get her next hit without getting caught, going to jail or getting killed.
After she began methadone, she gained confidence, focus and a college degree. But after two decades of methadone clinics, Regina was ready for a change.
“Methadone treatment in the United States is hedged around so many extraordinary draconian regulations that it is really the equivalent of lifetime parole,” she said.
Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center in Albany has freed Regina of the rigid regulations synonymous with methadone maintenance clinics. It’s called a medical maintenance program, and offers privacy to patients through one on one consultations with a doctor.
Patients are eligible for the medical maintenance program once they’ve shown a four year commitment to methadone maintenance, and meet behavioral requirements.
Joseph LaCoppola of Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center said, “It’s office based privacy. A prescription is written. You are no longer going to a dispensing window to be observed drinking your medication or take your medication home. All those policies and procedures, and regulations are waived.”
Maintenance program
Methadone is a rigorously well-tested medication that is safe and efficacious for the treatment of narcotic withdrawal and dependence. But a clinic in Albany offers addicts much more than just medication.
LaCoppola said the medical maintenance program eliminates the stigma associated with the traditional methadone maintenance. The program is one of the first in the country to be offered through a community health center. Regina said she is grateful for the program and her new freedom.
“Words fail me, it’s wonderful, wonderful. I never thought I’d live to see it,” she said.
For more information: Call 1-888-METHADONE
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