LIMA — A new outpatient clinic in Lima is offering medication-assisted treatment, counseling and recovery services for substance-use disorder as Ohio’s opioid epidemic appears to be escalating.
Nashville-based Spero Health opened the Lima outpatient clinic on Cable Road in September, becoming the latest clinic here to offer Suboxone and Vivitrol for opioid-use disorder.
The clinic combines medication-assisted treatment and physician services with counseling and recovery support, helping patients write resumes, find stable housing and reliable transportation to increase chances for recovery.
“We strongly feel that the substance-use disorder needs to be treated with counseling services,” said Amber Newcomer, Spero Health facility administrator in Lima. “There’s a lot more to it than just medication.”
Treatment plans are developed on a case-by-case basis, Newcomer said, as some patients may need to see a counselor on a weekly basis while others may only see their counselor once or twice a month.
The goal, she said, is to work with each patient to identify their goals and establish a treatment plan from there.
“A lot of them want to get back on their feet,” Newcomer said. “They want to get a job; they want to get the kids back.”
Spero Health is the latest addiction treatment group to expand services in Lima, a persistent need here as opioid overdoses have been increasing since late last year.
In the first three quarters of 2020, there have been 290 suspected opioid overdoses that resulted in a trip to the emergency department, an increase compared to the same period of 2018 and 2019, according to Ohio Department of Health emergency department data.
Newcomer said most patients can receive a same-day or next-day assessment with a counselor and provider. The clinic accepts Ohio Medicaid and most commercial insurance providers.