Public takes peek at CRH’s substance abuse clinic

A view of a the exterior of the new Columbus Regional Health Treatment and Support Center on 22nd Street in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, June 27, 2019. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

More than 60 people turned out within the first hour of a public open house at Columbus Regional Health’s new outpatient behavioral health clinic aimed at treating substance abuse disorders in Columbus.

The new 5,208-square-foot facility, called the Columbus Regional Health Treatment and Support Center, or TASC, will open Monday and offer medicated-assisted treatment, behavioral therapy and other services for people who are struggling with substance abuse disorders, including the abuse of alcohol, opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine and other substances.

The facility is located at 2630 22nd St. in the former Southern Indiana Gastroenterology building.

“My goal with TASC is to help treat people who have substance use problems, as well as provide help and resources for their family members,” said Dr. Kevin Terrell, medical director of TASC. “There’s an enormous need for this in our community. Our goal is to help as many people as we can.”

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Several members of the public showed up Thursday to take a look at the facility.

Glenda Aikins, 60, said she lives down the street from TASC and came to the open house because she initially had some concerns about living near the facility, and wanted to know more about what kinds of services the facility would offer.

“We wanted to make sure that something this close to our home is really going to be beneficial to the community,” she said.

But after seeing the facility for herself, she said. “I think it’s going to be a good program.”

Designed to help

The facility has three group rooms, each with a capacity of about 12 to 15 people, and four individual treatment rooms and an outdoor garden for mindfulness exercises and other activities. The facility contains light blue and beige colored walls, and most rooms have several photographs of natural landscapes on the walls, such as mountains and forests, among others, which CRH officials said were designed to help promote a calm and serene environment for patients.

TASC will provide medication-assisted treatment for people with opioid or alcohol abuse disorders, Terrell said. The idea behind medication-assisted treatment is to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings so therapists and other medical professionals can help patients find the root causes that may have prompted them to start abusing drugs or alcohol, Terrell said. All patients, however, “will meet with a therapist and get group therapy and or individual therapy,” Terrell said.

Initially, the facility will have 12 staff members, including a physician, licensed addiction therapist, case manager, intake coordinator, medical assistant and two peer recovery coaches, among other staff members, said Katrina Applegate, manager of TASC.

CRH officials estimate that the facility will serve about 126 unique patients during the first year and increase to nearly 600 unique patients by the fifth year of operations, said Cheryl Buffo, community programs lead for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, or ASAP.

Last month, the Columbus Regional Health Foundation announced that it would provide $2.1 million in funding for the facility. Columbus Regional Health Physicians LLC purchased the property in March from Ottawa Holdings LLC for $600,000, according to property transfer records.

Response to problem

Bartholomew County and the surrounding area, like much of the country, have seen a surge in opioid overdoses, emergency room visits and opioid-related deaths.

In 2017, 21 Bartholomew County residents died from opioid overdoses, compared to a total of 13 from 2011 to 2016, according to data from the Indiana State Department of Health, which tracks causes of death by county of residence, not necessarily the county in which the person died.

A total of 4,000 Indiana residents — including 84 people who resided in Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson and Jennings counties — died from opioid overdoses between 2011 and 2017.

Additionally, Bartholomew County residents have visited hospital emergency departments a combined 468 times for non-fatal opioid overdoses from 2011 to 2017. Across the state, opioid overdoses resulted in 26,884 emergency department visits over the same period — or about one visit every 2 hours and 17 minutes every day for seven years.

“The most troubling part is the reality that (substance abuse disorder) is a chronic relapsing disease,” Terrell said. “One of the heartbreaking realities is that sometimes when people have been stable and been doing well for a period of time — for months or even years — they can have a lapse and end up going back to the emergency department for an overdose.

“The goal (of TASC) is tell people up front that they are at risk of having a relapse. We want them to come back and see us. We don’t want them to be ashamed or embarrassed. We want them to come see us so it is just a brief stumble on the road to recovery.”

TASC will only provide outpatient services and will be available to people in CRH’s service area, which includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Ripley, Scott and Shelby counties.

“This is desperately needed in our community,” Terrell said.

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The Columbus Regional Health Treatment and Support Center, or TASC, will open Monday and offer medicated-assisted treatment, behavioral therapy and other services for people who are struggling with substance abuse disorders, including the abuse of alcohol, opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine and other substances.

The facility is located at 2630 22nd St. in the former Southern Indiana Gastroenterology building.

Call 812-375-3784 for more information.

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