Perry Township methadone clinic flooded with clients after ASI shutdown
A Perry Township methadone clinic was overflowing with cars and clients Monday in the wake of the region’s largest clinic closing Saturday.
“To get 500 people down here per day is just not going to work,” said Perry Township Supervisor A.J. Boni. “The capacity is just not there.”
Addiction Specialists Inc. in North Union Township was shut down after its license was revoked from the state Department of Drug and Alcohol programs in light of citations and allegations against the clinic’s owner, director, doctor and a counselor. ASI was the subject of an FBI raid Oct. 8. It served more than 500 clients.
Clients were lined out the door and cars were parked on the grass at Polaris Renewal Services along Route 51 on Monday morning. Township supervisors called state police to monitor traffic after cars were parked along the highway and on private property near the clinic, according to Boni.
“The state police do a wonderful job, but they have 100 other things they could be doing,” Boni said.
He said the clinic’s highway occupancy permit through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation allows for 50 cars and four trucks per day in its 26 parking spaces.
Boni said supervisors are working with the clinic on land management and stormwater management plans.
He said the priority is keeping residents and clients safe. He is concerned with the current arrangement.
“It makes no sense,” he said. “It’s not working.”
The arrangement is not working for some clients, either. Many refused to transfer from ASI until it was closed, saying the clinic was like a family to them and owner Rosalind “Roz” Sugarmann saved their lives.
Tabatha Swink of Uniontown said she waited for two hours to receive her methadone dosage, while ASI was five minutes from her house. Her fiance had to leave work early to receive his methadone dose, she said. The couple has three children.
“This is terrible. This is my worst nightmare right here,” she said.
She said she had take-home privileges at ASI, which took her more than three years to earn. That enabled her to only visit the clinic twice each week.
Swink said she is unsure how she will get a ride to Polaris every day. But with her current dosage at 110 mg per day, she goes into withdrawal without the dose. She said she wakes up sick at 7 a.m. every morning. As a guest patient at Polaris, she said she cannot have her dosage reduced or enter into a detox program.
“It’s frustrating. I worked really hard to get a stable dose,” she said. “What’s the point of staying clean if they take it from you?”