An exterior view of the Columbus Regional Health Treatment and Support Center in Columbus.
Republic file photo
A drug treatment center operated by Columbus Regional Health is seeing its highest patient load since opening its doors nearly three-and-a-half years ago as officials grapple with a historic rise in overdose deaths largely attributed to the increasing prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the community.
Dr. Kevin Terrell, medical director at CRH’s Treatment and Support Center, said he currently has nearly 390 active patients who are seeking treatment for substance use disorders, describing the figure as “the largest number of patients that we’ve ever had.”
The facility at 2630 22nd St., also known as TASC, opened its doors in July 2019 and provides a range of outpatient treatments for substance use disorders, including medication-assisted treatment in certain cases.
Terrell said he suspects that much of the increased demand for treatment at TASC is related to the historic rise in overdose deaths in the county and elsewhere. Earlier this month, the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office said that 37 people in the county had died from overdoses this year, the highest annual total on record and up from 17 deaths in 2018.
“Many of our new patients come in stating they’re here for treatment because they don’t want to die,” Terrell said. “They know fentanyl is contaminating much or most of the local drug supply, and they’re concerned about overdosing. My guess is that the overdose deaths in our community are driving many people into treatment. Many of our patients know someone who has died from an overdose.”
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is more potent than heroin but cheaper to produce and is being increasingly cut into other drugs — including heroin and methamphetamine, among other substances — often without the buyers’ knowledge, leading to accidental overdoses and “killing unsuspecting Americans at an unprecedented rate,” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Drug traffickers have started churning out fentanyl-laced pills under the guise of prescription medications, including Percocet, Adderall, Xanax and oxycodone, among others.
The end results of the influx in fentanyl have been tragic in Bartholomew County, where the drug has quickly become the “primary fatal drug in drug overdoses,” officials said previously. At least 101 people in Bartholomew County have died from overdoses from Jan. 1, 2020 to this past Dec. 6, county records show.
Since opening, opioids and methamphetamine have been the two most common substances that people seek help for at TASC, Terrell said. However, the specific opioid that people are using has changed.
“When we opened in 2019, the common opioids of addiction were heroin and pain pills,” Terrell said. “The only opioid use we have seen for the past year has been fentanyl, either in powder or pill form. Even when people think they’re taking a pharmaceutically made pain pill, it’s almost always pressed (with) fentanyl, often along with other dangerous drugs.”
The biggest referral source for TASC comes from Bartholomew County Community Corrections, accounting for about half of the facility’s patients, Terrell said. Other common referral sources for TASC include CRH’s VIMCare, other CRH providers, word of mouth and current patients.
“We are appreciative of everyone who directs patients to us,” Terrell said. “We are always open to new patients.”
