North Carolina
When Brack Jefferys and Brian Murphy opened Pisgah Recovery Services in Waynesville, they didn’t expect how quickly the coronavirus pandemic would change the way they do business. The business provides services to those attempting to control their opioid addiction through medically-assisted treatment — specifically methadone. While it has been difficult to get the ball rolling at this unstable time, Jefferys said it is as essential as ever that they provide that service. “Isolation is not good for anybody, and addicts in particular don’t do well with isolation,” he said.
Murphy said business has indeed been steady, and changes in certain restrictions has made their jobs easier. “During this time with COVID, the state has relaxed some of the rest on take-home doses so that patients don’t have to come to the facility as often as they otherwise would,” he said, adding that they are also providing patients with medicine lock boxes and Narcan.
Jefferys said what’s important about that is the enhanced effectiveness of methadone to treat fentanyl addiction versus Suboxone, which has directed some folks who struggled with Suboxone to give them a try. “We don’t want someone who thinks that because Suboxone didn’t work, nothing will work,” he said.
While some recovery centers that offer methadone or suboxone do so through Medicaid or health insurance, Pisgah Recovery Services offers a “pay-as-you-go,” approach beginning at a dollar a day for a month. From there, patients can establish daily, weekly or monthly payment plans. While the cost of recovery could seem steep when it’s coming straight from patients’ pockets, Jefferys looks at it a different way.
“If they’re buying narcotics on the street daily, that’s hundreds of dollars,” Jefferys said, adding that they also provide counseling services, group therapy and even non-OB-GYN services for pregnant women.
“Methadone, when appropriately used, has a pretty good safety profile,” he added. “For every dollar patients spend on treatment in a clinic, it saves Haywood County $7.46 in reduced criminality, child support, medical expenses and more,” he said.
Source: The Mountaineer
