The owners of a new Stoney Creek clinic on Queenston Street that treats opiate drug dependency say it’s about providing a clean, safe environment for clients to recover rather than sneaking behind walls in dank, dark back alleys away from prying eyes.

“This is mainline treatment, with clean, bright rooms,” said Dr. Fraser MacKay, one of four co-owners of the Niagara-based Segue Clinic. “Rather than trying to hide it, we are offering (the treatment) in a professional manner, much like what we would do for treating diabetes. What you see legitimizes the real problems. We help to case manage people who have an addiction through a variety of causes.” 

The clinic, located at Battlefield Square, beside Value Village and the Metro Coin laundry, caused a stir within the immediate community when it opened last week. A few residents talked to the Stoney Creek News and raised concerns about having a methadone clinic within walking distance of a local park, and within a busy, commercial area.

The residents, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of possible reprisals, criticized the city and the owners of the clinic for not informing them that a clinic that offers methadone treatment would be opening almost across the street from them. They pointed out most of their neighbours were not aware of a methadone clinic opening within their community.

MacKay said he understands any community concerns his clinic may raise for people. But, he points out there is a need for such a facility in the Stoney Creek, and Hamilton areas.

MacKay, the former chief of emergency services at Hotel Dieu Hospital in St. Catharines, opened in 2003 a Segue Clinic in St. Catharines, on James Street, one of the city’s busiest downtown streets, and another clinic in Welland. He said over the years the operators found a rising number of people from Stoney Creek, and Brantford were seeking treatment. They decided to open a clinic in the Stoney Creek area.

“The area is underserved,” he said.

He projects the clinic could provide treatment of up to 300 people over time.

When he opened his clinic in downtown St. Catharines, he received a raucous welcome from businesses and city council, who were concerned about possible social repercussions, increases in crime, loitering in the downtown area. It hasn’t come to pass, he said.

“We have made an improvement in the area,” he said. “Studies have show (treatment clinics) have a positive impact on the community.”

MacKay said they moved the clinic in the strip mall because it fit their priorities, – easy transportation access to major highways, with a large parking lot, and is away from nearby schools.

“We were looking for a site that would best serve the needs of the community, with plenty of parking and anonymity at the same time,” he said.

Methadone clinics in downtown Hamilton and Burlington have caused a firestorm of controversy within neighbourhoods. Earlier this year a methadone clinic opened at the corner of Lock and King streets, prompting Councillor Brian McHattie to urge city planning staff to possibility license them.

Debbie Spence, communications officer for the city’s planning department, said staff are preparing a report that would include the best practices to merge clinics such as Segue into a local neighbourhood. She said licensing them doesn’t seem to be an option. But there could be zoning requirements associated with establishing such a clinic, such as requiring them to have large waiting rooms, expanded parking lots, and covered areas.

The Segue clinic did not need a rezoning application to locate in the strip mall because it had already allowed for medical services.

Burlington council late last year approved a methadone clinic on Plains Road even though the local community was against it.

MacKay believes the other tenants, including Denninger’s, in the mall know about his clinic’s services. Before opening, he did put a note on the clinic’s door informing curious passersby about the facility. He has also recently met with the Hamilton Police service about his clinic. He said clients are required to meet a certain level of expectations, included no loitering and rowdy behavior.

“It has a negative impact on what we do,” said MacKay. “It’s not what we want.

“We have been up front about what we do,” he added. “We are a clinic that provides addiction services.”

Nearby residents, though, said before the clinic even opened its doors, they should have been informed either by city officials or the clinic’s owners about its presence in the community.

“I understand their anxiety,” said MacKay.

He said he encourages any person or neighbourhood to meet with him and learn about the clinic’s function.

“I am willing to speak to any groups about opiate addiction,” he said.

Methadone is a white crystal powder, that is usually dissolved in an orange flavoured drink, and is taken once a day. It can eliminate withdrawal symptoms for a day with a single dose.

MacKay emphasizes the clinic does not dispense methadone to clients. People receive their prescriptions, such as methadone, from a pharmacy. The clinic provides what MacKay calls a case management treatment, that involves helping clients overcome the underlining problems associated with their addictions.

“We want to provide them with stability,” he said.

The clinic offers what it calls opiate dependence treatment for people who have an addition to such drugs as heroin, Oxycontin, morphine, Percocet and codeine. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), methadone maintenance treatment is identified in Canada and around the world as an “effective, safe, and cost-effective option for opioid dependence.”

It is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in partnership with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Ontario Pharmacists, and Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. The college took over the treatment in 1986 and is under contract to recruit and oversee the doctors who prescribe it.

Kathryn Clarke, spokesperson for the college, said the physicians who look after the program enter a rigorous training regiment, and are reviewed every three years. There are about 280 physicians who prescribe the methodone treatment to about 26,000 people in Ontario, according to the college. She confirmed the physicians operating the Segue clinics are registered with the college.

Any treatment by the clinic could start with providing a client with methodone to stabilize their situation, said MacKay.

“With an addiction, it means you have lost control, you crave,” he said. “We provide very tight boundaries during the first six months. The treatment could last as long as two years, he said.

 But the treatment also includes providing the client with resources through Segue’s partnerships with other social agencies, such as housing, a 12-step program, or mental health help.

“We look behind the addition,” he said. “It’s about change, and getting stabilized, then getting you weaned off. We treat them in a non-judgmental fashion.”

MacKay says about seven per cent of his clients are referred by physicians, and another 15 per cent come from other agencies. But the largest number of his clients turn up at his clinics because they heard about it from a friend or some one else.

He said it’s not just street people who have used the clinic. Professionals, ordinary people, and even youths have entered treatment.

“It’s a wide spectrum of community members who are affected,” he said.