SALISBURY – Officials in Wicomico County are looking to partner with the state and other county agencies to open a drug rehabilitation center at a vacant correctional facility off Nanticoke Road in Quantico.
County Executive Bob Culver, Health Officer Lori Brewster and county staff came before the Wicomico County Council in a work session on Tuesday to present a plan to convert the shuttered Poplar Hill Pre-Release Unit into a long-term drug rehabilitation center.
Culver told the council Wicomico County residents voiced the need for more immediate and long-term treatment facilities in recent community meetings on the opioid epidemic. From that feedback, Culver said he approached the state secretary of corrections with the idea of utilizing the vacant Poplar Hill correctional building for a rehabilitation program.
“He felt that there was no way they would ever move anybody back into that facility,” he said. “The prison population has actually gone down by about 6,000 people over the last few years or so. With that, we started talking about converting Poplar Hill into a treatment center that would give longer term care to people.”
Instead of traditional treatment programs that offer seven-day or 28-day stays, Culver said the drug rehabilitation center at Poplar Hill would focus on long-term recovery.
“What we’re trying to do is create a longer-term treatment facility where they can stay for a while,” he said.
Since launching this initiative, Culver said the county has received the support of various state agencies and eight surrounding counties.
“All of them have shown an interest in participating in this because we all have the same problem,” he said, “an opioid addiction problem.”
Brewster said the proposed rehabilitation center would be a vital resource for members of the health department’s COAT (Community Outreach Addictions Team) program – which directs those who are addicted or have overdosed to treatment facilities.
“If you can’t grab the person when they are in need, they are going to go back out, and they are going to use and they are going to relapse and possibly die,” she said. “Our goal is to prevent some of these overdoses that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars in criminal justice, time, medical costs, judicial time, the whole nine yards.”
Brewster noted that 57 percent of the individuals contacted by a COAT member in the last year wanted to seek treatment for their addiction, but could not find immediate access to a bed in a rehabilitation or detox facility. She said a rehabilitation center at Poplar Hill – which is expected to house up to 60 individuals – would provide 23-hour observation and detoxification services, resident treatment programs and recovery housing.
“We do need access to treatment on a 24-hour basis,” she said. “That seems to be our biggest stumbling block at this point.”
The county is currently seeking treatment providers interested in running the facility and developing plans for how the center would operate. Culver estimates it would take between $5 million and $7 million in federal and state funding to remodel Poplar Hill for the rehabilitation program.
“We haven’t worked out all the details, but we are working hard with the state now,” he said. “We’ve got a six-month plan already and we’re moving forward with this.”
While Poplar Hill is a state-owned facility, Culver said the county will act as a facilitator in launching the rehabilitation center. He also suggested the county could show their support by offering jobs to those who complete the program.
“After treatment, we need something so that the people can hold their head up, go back into society and be proud of themselves,” he said. “With that I’m going to ask the county to help us in offering jobs to some of these people … They can do anything from helping with ditches to concession stands.”
While he commended the initiative, Council President John Cannon said he would like to see the rehabilitation center give Wicomico County residents priority over residents from other counties.
“I want to make sure somehow or another Wicomico County has first priority for that,” he said.
Councilman Marc Kilmer added that those living near the facility should be informed of the county’s plans and suggested the county hold a public meeting.
“It might be good to have a meeting and invite the neighbors,” he said.
While it is not yet known when the proposed rehabilitation center would open, Brewster said state and county officials would seek input from health officers in other jurisdictions later in the week before presenting their plans to other county councils.
“We are taking baby steps in this because we want to do it right,” she said.
