East Tennessee St. forms partnership to treat opioid addicts
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) – East Tennessee State University and Mountain States Health Alliance are together hoping to bring a nonprofit methadone and burenorphine treatment center to Gray.
Media outlets report that the two institutions held a news conference Wednesday to announce the partnership in support of the newly established Center for Prescription Drug Abuse and Treatment at the university.
If approved, the Gray treatment center will combine counseling, group therapy and other social support services.
Mountain States Health Alliance CEO Alan Levine says the holistic approach would set the clinic apart from other treatment centers who have attempted to gain a certificate of need from the state.
Tennessee ranks second in the nation for opioid consumption, with eastern Tennessee seeing the greatest amount of opioid consumption in the state.
