New drug treatment unit set for eastern Indiana hospital

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) - A 22-bed locked, drug addiction-treatment unit is expected to open in the coming weeks at the Richmond State Hospital in eastern Indiana.

The unit is part of a Wayne County plan to identify highly at-risk people with addictions when they are treated for overdoses by the emergency room at Reid Hospital in Richmond. The Palladium-Item reports annual state funding of $225,000 over the next three years is helping establish the county's pilot program for treating opioid addiction.

The state money will then be used to put people into treatment, either voluntarily or involuntarily, using the state's commitment statute.

Reid Hospital executive Lisa Suttle says forcing people into drug treatment be controversial, the other option often is doing nothing.

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Information from: Palladium-Item, http://www.pal-item.com