Privatize opioid treatment services? The Spokane County Health District is seeking information

The Spokane Regional Health District is seeking input on a proposal to privatize its opioid treatment services.

This week, the public health organization held three town halls to gather citizens’ comments and concerns about the idea. While final approval for the separation of treatment services is still a long way off, SRHD administrative officer Alicia Thompson hopes a privatized organization could provide better services than a public entity.

“We are bound by government processes and cannot move quickly. Additionally, our focus must be on being wise stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Thompson said at a town hall Thursday. “Within a private business structure, they don’t have the same constraints that we have in government. They are actually able to be more agile and responsive to the needs within the communities.”

SRHD’s first methadone clinic opened in 1990 and has since grown to serve more than 1,000 actively enrolled patients. Direct treatment, however, is not typically performed by a public health agency, Thompson said.

If Thompson gives his stamp of approval in September, the health district will begin developing specific plans with private entities that may be willing to accept treatment services. The administrative officer noted that he recently had a conversation with a “very large” organization in Idaho with 117 different opioid treatment programs. She also has meetings scheduled with more than half a dozen similar drug treatment organizations.

After attending the town hall Thursday, resident Jeff Beaulac said he had “mixed feelings” about the proposal.

“Based on what I’ve heard so far today, I would be against it. I think for privatization to work there needs to be a good plan and I haven’t heard one today. I understand that this is early in the process, but I would like to know what kind of oversight would be in place to make sure that clients are not just being treated as a source of income,” said Beaulac, noting that he has previously worked with affected populations in community.

In his presentation, Thompson noted that “transparency” is an advantage of a government institution.