Public hearing slated in Ritzville on proposed Spokane Valley methadone treatment program

The Department of Social and Health Services has scheduled public hearings in Adams and Spokane Counties to receive comments on plans for a new chemical dependency treatment program.

The program would serve people who are dependent on opiates, such as heroin and the pain medication OxyContin.

The proposed treatment program, WCHS, Inc – Spokane Treatment Solutions (STS), is requesting to operate at 15812 E. Indiana Avenue, Suite 100, Spokane Valley. The treatment program includes medication (such as methadone or Suboxone), case management, therapeutic treatment and medical oversight.

The public hearings are scheduled for Aug. 4, 2011, in the following locations:

• Spokane County Library District, 12004 E. Main Avenue, Spokane Valley. Sign-in will begin at 3:30 p.m. The hearing will run from 4 to 5 p.m.

• Ritzville Public Library, 302 W. Main Avenue, Ritzville. Sign-in will begin at 7:15 p.m. The hearing runs from 7:30 to 8 p.m.

A DSHS fact sheet is available discussing how methadone treatment reduces health care costs and arrests and convictions at http://www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/ms/rda/research/11/117.pdf.

STS is seeking Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery certification to operate medication-assisted treatment in Spokane Valley. STS must also be registered with the Washington State Department of Health - Board of Pharmacy; licensed by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); certified by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Division of Pharmacological Therapies (DPT); and accredited by a federally recognized accreditation body.