JACKSON – Representatives of White Oak Center LLC, which is seeking to establish a post-detoxification rehabilitation facility in Jackson, described the type of individual who would be treated at the facility during a recent meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
White Oak Center is proposing to operate a 46-bed post-detoxification rehabilitation facility in the former Pushkin Memorial Home, an assisted living facility, on Pushkin Road. The applicant is seeking a use variance because the proposed use is not permitted in Jackson’s R-1 residential zone.
Attorney Peter Van Dyke and Joseph Marino, a community relations representative from Premier Addiction Treatment Centers, represented the applicant at the zoning board’s Oct. 3 meeting. No decision was made that evening and the application was carried to the board’s Feb. 6 meeting.
White Oak Center is proposing a residential inpatient facility with no outpatient programs. Marino said most of the clients at the center will have insurance, while some people will pay for the services themselves.
“These are generally working people who still maintain their insurance,” he said.
The board’s chairman, Sheldon Hofstein, asked Marino what criteria will be used to determine who should come to the rehab facility.
“Once they walk in the door a complete assessment is done,” he said. “That involves family members or a spouse giving some input regarding their issue, self-reporting, and we make an evaluation at that time if this form of treatment in a residential setting is appropriate or not. If it is not, we will make a recommendation to an outpatient treatment or something in that area.”
Hoffstein asked about the possibility of a person coming to the Jackson facility after having been at similar rehabilitation facilities.
Marino said in his experience, individuals will not be accepted into a facility more than two or three times.
The board’s vice chairman, Carl Book Jr., asked if a primary criteria for admission to the proposed facility is that the patient would have to be confirmed as being detoxed and will not be detoxed at White Oak Center.
Marino said a client would have to go through a detox protocol to be recommended for admission and said that is part of White Oak Center’s evaluation of an individual.
Board member Scott Najarian asked if the facility would only be for adults. Marino said the center would only admit individuals age 18 and over, and only on a voluntary basis. He said there would not be any involuntary court mandated assignments. Marino said some charity care would be provided.
Najarian asked about the proposed staffing and Marino said there would be staff members on duty 24 hours a day. The staff would include an administrator, a clinical supervisor, a registered nurse and/or a licensed practical nurse, counselors and security personnel.
Board member Alexander Sauickie III asked if any clients would have a felony criminal record.
A client “cannot have an active felony problem, but they could have previous felony records, as long as it is not affecting their treatment at the facility,” Marino said. “Most people who come to us have a history of addiction and some kind of problem with the law. That’s not saying all of them, but some do.”
Sauickie asked if a client’s history could include a sexual criminal record.
“We will not take sexual (criminals). We check databases when (a client) comes in. We will not take anybody who has an arson (record), we will not take anybody who has any kind of an assault charge. They are not eligible to come to the facility,” Marino said.
Najarian expressed concern about safety and security in the residential neighborhood that surrounds the former Pushkin home.
Marino responded, saying, “I understand the safety part. Everywhere I have worked, we take that into consideration as a No. 1 (concern). We love to get involved in the community and where I have worked before we have been involved in the community. We want the community to be safe.”
He said the clients’ movements will be monitored and said the building’s doors will have alarms.
“We will know the door someone walks out of and we will go to them. As a clinical person, we try to talk it over. Usually (a client) makes a rash decision, (perhaps) they do not like the food that day so they take it upon themselves and walk out. My motto is that we go to somebody and try to talk them,” Marino said.
Hofstein referred to a letter from the Jackson Police Department, which is objecting to the proposed treatment center. In the letter, police said, “Projects such as these are proven to place considerable demands on local services, including law enforcement.”
The letter indicated there have been calls from the current boarding house that is occupying the former Pushkin home.
The applicant’s attorney, Peter Van Dyke, said the proposed White Oak Center “would be a more structured environment” than the type of facilities the police department cited as being a concern.
“I submit there is a very strong likelihood that the number of calls (coming from the White Oak Center) would actually decrease as opposed to increase,” Van Dyke said.
Residents who commented on the application supported what the applicant is trying to accomplish, but said they did not want a facility of this type in their neighborhood.