Showing of community support was tremendous
Following a three-hour meeting in Nashville, the Tennessee Health Facilities Board voted 6-2 Wednesday afternoon to approve the “Certificate of Need” that will allow Cedar Recovery to open a Methadone Clinic in Putnam County, according to County Mayor Randy Porter.
Many county residents and public officials gathered in Nashville to speak out against the proposed clinic that looks to set up shop at 1805 Burgess Falls Road in the same building as Elite Sports (a training ground for young athletes).
The building is also near a day care, a church and what will be the new Parkview school.
“It’s a sad day when so many united voices from across our great county are left with a result they are so strongly against,” announced Porter in a Facebook post. “Board members admitted to us that they are bound to consider the needs of an addict over and above the concerns of the thousands of citizens potentially affected by this decision, despite many professional opinions indicating methadone is not the best treatment option.”
Porter says the out showing of community support was tremendous.
“Everyone who attended fought a good fight and represented Putnam County extremely well,” said Porter. “Unfortunately, the chips seemed to be stacked against us from the beginning.”
Porter has been staunchly anti-methadone clinic since the beginning of this process when Cedar Recvovery decided to try the “third times the charm” method in Putnam County after failing to gain traction in both Rickman and Cookeville. What are the next steps?
“We’re not certain where this goes from here, but we will explore any and all appeals options that may be available in order to keep our county as safe as it possibly can be,” said Porter.
This is an ongoing story. Check back for updates.
Photo via Facebook.
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