A methadone clinic in Ashley serves more than 400 area residents, and a new advocate is encouraging more opioid addicts to consider participating in the program.
“There is no shame here,” said Jennifer Coolbaugh, a new certified recovery specialist at the Miners Medical clinic. “People are dying out there. We want them to walk through the door and see that there’s a better way.”
Through Wednesday, there were 89 overdose deaths in Luzerne County in 2017, excluding four suspected ones awaiting toxicology confirmation, according to the county coroner’s office.
That means the county is on pace for 133 overdose deaths this year, a total that would fall nine short of the 142 in 2016. That figure surpassed the previous record of 95, set in 2015.
An addict in long-term recovery, Coolbaugh, 42, of West Pittston, recently was hired through the state’s initiative to create Centers of Excellence treating opioid substance-use disorder.
These centers must address underlying physical and behavioral health issues linked to addiction, along with medication-assisted treatment when appropriate, according to state officials.
In addition to the Ashley facility, the CleanSlate Addiction Treatment Center in Wilkes-Barre has been designated a Center of Excellence. Most of that facility’s 500-plus patients are struggling with opioid abuse and receive Suboxone or Vivitrol, medications that stop drug cravings by blocking brain receptors, center representatives said in June.
Sober for two years, Coolbaugh completed training to work as a certified recovery specialist at the Ashley center along with Tiffany Pradel, 36, of the Pittston area.
After passing a state certification test, these specialists provide support to others who have less time in recovery, providing advice and proof that sobriety is attainable.
“We can relate to them. We’ve been through it,” Coolbaugh said. “It gives them hope.”
By her description, she was a “raging mess” struggling to get out of bed more than two years ago. Today she successfully juggles full-time employment, motherhood and extensive volunteer work. She relied heavily on her support network to cope with the death of her fiance in an accident four months ago and has shared coping skills to stay sober through trauma with her clients.
Coolbaugh and Pradel meet with about 50 newer clients at the Ashley center at least once a week and will be assigned to any newcomers. They have been visiting homeless camps, businesses and other areas where addicts might congregate, attempting to spread the word of their new involvement at the center, Coolbaugh said.
Clients at the methadone clinic must complete both individual and group counseling sessions once a week and undergo random urine testing, she said.
“Methadone clinics get such a stigma because people think clients just come in, get their medication and leave,” Coolbaugh said. “It’s not a walk in the park. Clients are held to a very high standard.”
Income-eligible clients receive medical assistance to cover program costs, while others pay out of pocket, she said. Many come to counseling sessions at 6 a.m. so they can complete requirements before work.
Choices Recovery Program also operates a methadone center in Luzerne County, located in Plains Township. That clinic has approximately 275 active clients, a representative said.
