Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – A well-known provider of addiction recovery care is actively working to open an outpatient treatment center in Circleville.
Paul Coleman, president and CEO of Maryhaven, said the Columbus-based treatment facility has been working for the past several months with the Scioto-Paint Valley ADAMH board and Adena Health System to determine the feasibility of a Circleville center.
“It would provide services to individuals who are addicted to opiates primarily, if not exclusively,” Coleman said. “We are optimistic we will be able to secure the necessary resources in terms of staffing and location so we can open within the next three to six months.”
Coleman said a Circleville center would be very similar to Maryhaven’s operation in six other central and north central Ohio counties. It would be an outpatient facility only, he said, and would not provide residential treatment services.
Coleman said Maryhaven already has a good working relationship with Pickaway County, which often refers severely-impaired patients to its residential center in Columbus.
“In all of our locations, we probably serve upwards of 350 to 400 patients,” Coleman said. “That includes our outpatient programs here in Columbus.”
Coleman said Maryhaven, operating since 1953, is the oldest and most comprehensive provider of addiction recovery care in central Ohio.
Vince Yaniga, director of the Scioto-Paint Valley Mental Health Center in Circleville, confirmed this week that Maryhaven is closing in on its plan for a local outpatient facility.
Maria K. Smith, spokeswoman for Adena Health System, said while Adena is working to help meet the community challenges presented as the result of drug abuse and addiction, she could not confirm any partnership with Maryhaven at this time.
“Recognizing the need for addiction care and treatment in our community, Adena has been speaking with experts, including Maryhaven, to research the opportunities that could be available in helping to meet the addiction treatment needs of people living in south central and southern Ohio,” Smith said. “However, at this time, there is no legal agreement, nor has a formal plan been executed with any entity.”
Scioto-Paint Valley is one of several options already available locally for addiction recovery care. Another is Pickaway Area Recovery Services (PARS), which not only offers outpatient services but also has operated a residential treatment facility for women locally since April of 2013. Officials also hope to have a men’s residential facility up and running by January of 2016, according to Barry Bennett, executive director of PARS.
“Probably within the next eight months, we will become mental health certified, too, because that need is there,” Bennett said.
Bennett said the PARS program, which is evidence-based, has some of the highest success rates for the treatment of heroin addiction in the state of Ohio.
“I see our graduates all the time,” Bennett said. “They’re working, going back to college, doing all kinds of tremendous things. We even have them come back and talk to the women currently in residential treatment so they can see it really can be done.”
Coleman said he could not yet confirm a location for a Maryhaven outpatient center in Circleville since those options are still being explored, but he is hopeful they can confirm those details soon.
More information on Maryhaven and its services can be found at www.maryhaven.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
