Federal regulations close Alaska’s only residential detox facilities

  • Sunday, May 1, 2016 9:24pm
  • News

JUNEAU (AP) — Alaska’s only residential detox facilities for opiate addiction have closed due to a federal regulation change.

The 14-bed Ernie Turner Center in Anchorage and the 16-bed Gateway to Recovery Detox Center in Fairbanks are no longer accepting patients withdrawing from opioids, though they remain open for detox from other substances like alcohol.

Bradley Grigg, with the Alaska State Opioid Treatment Authority, said it is vital that the detox facilities reopen to opioid users.

“With the increase of opiate use throughout the state, if we have designated beds for opiate detox, it is essential that we keep those online,” Griggs said

Both centers had physician assistants administer the medications Tramadol and Zyprexa for opiate detox, but according to federal regulation, only a Drug Enforcement Administration certified doctor can administer those medications in a detox setting. Because neither facility has such a doctor, they no longer can treat opioid withdrawals.

The change comes after Tramadol was designated a schedule IV controlled substance in 2014.

“I’ve reached out to my colleagues in the Lower 48 and we’re hoping to gain some information from them on how they’re dealing with this — if there has been a pause in treatment services for detox, what they’re doing to minimize that pause so they can get these beds back online,” Griggs said.

Perry Ahsogeak, the Fairbanks Native Association’s behavioral health director, said he hopes to reopen the beds at Gateway to Recovery for opioid detox by the end of May.

Of the 16 beds at the facility, the two designated for opiate addiction are always full, he said.

Officials with the Ernie Turner Center, which is operated by the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, did not return requests for comment, the newspaper said.

Christina Love, a recovery coach in Juneau, where there is no detox facility for opiate addiction, said losing the only beds for opioid addicts in the state is a huge problem because people needing facilities can quickly change their minds.

“If there aren’t any detox options then it’s just a matter of time before another option becomes available to them that keeps them in that life,” Love said.

More in News

Snow coats an eroding bluff near the mouth of the Kenai River on Friday, March 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai accepting bids on bluff stabilization project

The announcement means that contractors can start submitting their proposals for how they’d complete the work and how much it would cost to do so

A stack of the Seward Journal is pictured. The town’s only daily newspaper published its last edition Nov. 27. (Photo via Seward Journal Facebook page)
‘A thing of the past’

Seward Journal calls it quits after struggle to keep newspaper afloat

Tim Navarre and Dana Cannava discuss a preliminary Soldotna route for the Kahtnu Area Transit with Planner Bryant Wright at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Getting people where they need to go

Plans for Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Kahtnu Area Transit move forward

A state plow truck clears snow from the Kenai Spur Highway on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
DOT identifies roads included in brine reduction plan

The department said its goal is to reduce brine use overall in the region by 40%

Soldotna High School senior Josiah Burton testifies in opposition to the proposed cut of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District theater technicians while audience members look on during a board of education meeting on Monday, March 6, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finance group reviews expenditures ahead of upcoming budget cycle

As the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District prepares to grapple with another… Continue reading

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Silver salmon, personal use fishing discussed by advisory committee

The group set their recommendations on a variety of proposals to the State Board of Fisheries

Hoses pump water along Patrick Drive to help mitigate flooding near Kalifornsky Beach Road on Friday, July 21, 2023, near Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough spent almost $78k responding to flood events during disaster declaration

Most of the funds were spend in the northwest area of Kalifornsky Beach Road

The National Weather Service’s map shows a winter weather advisory, in orange, effective for much of the eastern Kenai Peninsula. (Screenshot)
Heavy snow, blowing winds forecast for Turnagain Pass on Wednesday

Snow accumulations of up to 16 inches are expected

The Kenai Courthouse is seen on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Grand jury adds charges in October killing of Homer woman

The indictment was delivered on Nov. 8

Most Read