Politics & Government

Salisbury Commissioners Approve Detox Center

Lehigh County Detoxification Center's patients would come from Lehigh, but other areas still possible

The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners approved on Thursday Lehigh County's plans to build a 31-bed residential for people with drug and alcohol dependencies.

The Lehigh County Detoxification Center, a 15,500 square-foot facility, would be built on seven acres at 1600 Riverside Drive, next to the county’s Community Corrections Center, a work-release center for low-risk offenders. The detox center would be built at a cost between $3 million to $4 million, acording to Glenn Solt, Lehigh County director of capital projects.

The board took two actions at the meeting. First, they held a public hearing on the proposed conditional use of the site, which is zoned industrial.  The board approved the conditional use plans by a vote of three to one. Commissioner Norma Cusick voted against it. Commissioner Robert Martucci was absent. The board then approved the preliminary and final land development plans.

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Cusick raised numerous questions concerning where the patients would be coming from; the safety record of White Deer Run, the for-profit company contracted to run the facility; the county's obligation to repair Riverside Road and the proximity of the facility to Walking Purchase Park.

Cusick questioned the county on its intention to accept patients from other states, citing a document submitted by the county in September that listed West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, New York and New Jersey as areas from which it would draw patients.

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"My concern is this would become a destination for all the surrounding states and you will be adding beds," Cusick said.

Edward Andres, an attorney for Lehigh County, said the document was no longer valid and the facility would draw primarily from Lehigh County, followed by contiguous regions.

Darbe George, Lehigh County's Drug and Alcohol Administrator, cited figures dating back to 2006 that showed the county will likely have enough people who receive public funding in Lehigh County and who need treatment to fill the beds before it needs to seek patients from surrouding counties. The county sent between approximately 300 and 1,000 publicly-funded patients to surrounding areas for treatment.

Darbe said it is in Lehigh County's best interest to keep the beds filled because it saves money.

Of the 31 beds, 21 will be used for patients in rehab and 10 for detox, Darbe said. Residents would spend between three to five days at the detox center and 14 to 28 days in the rehab section, she said.

Dominic Marfisi, regional director of four White Deer Run facilities, said the detox and rehab center would be licensed by the state as "non-hospital, medically monitored" programs. A physician, who would at the facility three hours a day and on-call the rest of the time, would be responsible for treatment and care of the patients and would make medical rounds once a day. Marfisi said the facility would have 31 employees at the site on weekdays.

Cusick questioned the kinds of medications patients would be on. Marfisi said it would vary with individuals, but they would be evaluated. "We are a drug-free program," he said. "We don't use methodone or opiates."


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