A new drug addiction treatment facility will open in Wadsworth later this month.
The LCADA Way, a private nonprofit organization offering recovery programs throughout the area, announced Thursday it will lease space at Summa Health Center at Wadsworth-Rittman. The three-year lease will bring services including outpatient and daytime treatment to patients in Wadsworth and surrounding communities.
LCADA is scheduled to begin providing services on June 20 at a former day care center building at 215 Wadsworth Road.
“The LCADA Way’s vision is to become a center of excellence for treatment, education and prevention of substance abuse and addiction,” said Thomas Stuber, president and CEO of The LCADA Way, in a news release. “To meet this goal, we have designed programs and re-engineered services to best serve those individuals and families suffering from narcotic and heroin addiction.”
The treatment center comes in the wake of the ongoing opiate addiction epidemic, which claims the lives of about six people per day in Ohio alone. Authorities report drug overdoses in the U.S. kill more people per year than car crashes or gun violence, and a majority of the nation’s overdose deaths are attributed to opiates like heroin, fentanyl and other prescription painkillers.
Experts estimate that 200,000 Ohioans — a population rivaling that of Akron — are addicted to opiates right now.
Summa officials said they hope LCADA’s facility will help curb the problem in Wadsworth.
“We believe this partnership will be of great benefit to the community,” said Molly Menton, site administrator at Summa’s Wadsworth center, “and we look forward to helping our citizens fight this terrible disease of addiction.”
Wadsworth Mayor Robin Laubaugh agreed.
“We are determined to help end these tragedies and help those residents who are in need of these vital services,” she said.
Kelly Woolsey, a Wadsworth woman whose son died of a fentanyl overdose in September, said she’s glad her town is getting more resources so families like her might succeed at saving their children.
“I think Wadsworth is in denial, almost, that this is happening as bad as it is,” she said, explaining that some in older generations are unable to grasp the issue because it’s unfamiliar.
Still, she said LCADA’s Wadsworth location will provide greater support for those struggling with addiction.
“We’ve heard rumblings that LCADA might be happening for a while now,” she said, “and we’re really glad and excited that something like this is coming to our town.”
LCADA will join other outpatient services offered by the former Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital, which shuttered inpatient services in 2014. A lawsuit is ongoing in Medina County Common Pleas Court to return inpatient services to the facility.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.