Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Dr. Kevin Terrell poses for a photo June 9 in his office at the Columbus Regional Health Treatment and Support Center in Columbus
A drug treatment center operated by Columbus Regional Health has started accepting walk-in patients largely in response to a rise in substance abuse disorder during the pandemic.
CRH’s Treatment and Support Center, or TASC, 2630 22nd St., is now allowing new and previously discharged clients to walk-in and see the facility’s medical director on Mondays and Thursdays and for initial therapy assessments on Wednesdays.
Walk-in hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays, with an hour break for lunch at noon. On Wednesdays, the walk-in hours for initial therapy assessments are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A total of six people turned out for walk-in appointments on Monday, the first day the appointments were available — including five people who had never sought treatment at the facility before, said TASC Medical Director Dr. Kevin Terrell.
“One of the things that we’re doing in response to the opioid epidemic is to try to increase access by opening up those walk-in hours,” Terrell said.
The update from TASC comes as the number of people seeking help for addiction to fentanyl continues to increase.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and is often illegally produced and sold on the streets for its heroin-like effect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drug has also been found locally disguised as Xanax pills.
The two most common substances people seek help for at TASC are fentanyl and methamphetamine, though the number of people wanting to get help with alcohol abuse also has risen over the course of the pandemic.
As of Wednesday, TASC had 389 active patients, Terrell said.
“(Fentanyl and methamphetamine) are pretty much neck and neck as far as what people are seeking help for,” Terrell said.
