Drug addict clinic info released

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November 4, 2009

Health Cabinet is slow to respond to CJ’s Open Records Request

CJ Staff Report The Commonwealth Journal Wed Nov 04, 2009, 08:06 PM EST

Pulaski Fiscal Court, Somerset City Council, UNITE and some local citizens went on record as opposing a drug addict treatment clinic in Somerset after first learning of it following an article last month in the Commonwealth Journal. But several local public officials were aware of the proposed clinic as early as last June, and signed memoranda to that effect.

Those signed statements were submitted to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services by:

• Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood,

• Pulaski County Jailer Mike Harris,

• Janis Barton, COO of the Adanta Group, and

• Carolyn Palmer, representing the Somerset Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.

The signed documents each specifically state:

“This memorandum does not reflect whether you agree or disagree with this treatment, only that you did receive this memorandum.”

The memoranda cont-ained no explanation as to why the signatures were solicited or whether they were required by law. (In past years, the endorsement of public officials for addiction clinics has been obtained by parties seeking to license such facilities and submitted along with their applications. However, these latest statements appear to be in the form of notification rather than endorsement.)

The memoranda, along with applications and other documents related to Somerset Addiction Solutions, LLC, a methadone treatment center under construction in Somerset, were received this week in response to an Open Records Request filed with the Cabinet by the Commonwealth Journal. The newspaper’s request was filed on Sept. 30, and state law gives government agencies three working days to respond. However, in this case the requested information was not released by the Cabinet until Oct. 30. No written explanation was offered for the delay.

While some information protected by law was redacted from the documents, according to Anne E. Burnham, assistant counsel for the Cabinet, the released filings provide insights into the owners’ — Terry Scott and Lori A. Nation, M.D., acting as partners — rationale for a establishing an addiction treatment clinic here.

The documents reveal that on Aug. 12, 2009, Scott and Nation were issued a license to operate Somerset Addiction Solutions, an outpatient alcohol and drug treat-ment clinic in Somerset. State officials earlier told the Commonwealth Jour-nal that this license is the first step in obtaining a second license for an opiate addiction treatment license.

According to Scott and Nation’s application, their clinic:

• Is located in a 2,400-square-foot suite at 3540 South U.S.. 27 in Somerset. On Aug. 12, the facility was inspected and found in compliance with state licensure require-ments. (There is a discrepancy between the description of the clinic’s location in Scott and Nation’s application, and the actual license granted by the state. The applicants gave their address as 3540 South U.S.. 27, while the state issued License No. 810277 for a clinic at 3640 South U.S. 27.)

• Will draw from a potential pool of 2,881 addicts on heroin or other morphine-like drugs within a 100-mile radius of the clinic. (The sole function of the clinic will be narcotic treatment.)

• Will begin with 110 addicts in treatment, and a projected rate of intake of two per week contingent on transportation to Somerset, patient outreach and referrals.

• Will primarily dispense Methadone and Suboxone to treat the addicts in an effort to remove clients from exposure to disease and the necessity to engage in criminal activities.

• Will be open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sunday, with dosings administered from opening through 9:30 a.m. weekdays and until 8:30 a.m. on weekends.

Prior to filing its Open Records request, the Commonwealth Journal’s repeated attempts to contact Scott for comment went unanswered. How-ever, following an Oct. 1 Commonwealth Journal article which disclosed plans for the proposed clinic, and after the paper's Open Records request had been filed, Scott agreed to be interviewed. That inter-view appeared in the Oct. 18 edition. However, on Tuesday, Oct. 27, Scott, reportedly acting on the advice of his attorneys, declined to attend a public forum on the clinic held at Pulaski County Courthouse.

Among information concerning the clinic that is being withheld by the Cabinet is:

• Its plan of operation,

• The chain of command and roles of staff members,

• Release of drawings that would pose security threats,

• Financial records and funding sources, and

• Memoranda for supportive services with non-public third parties.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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