Porter-Starke Services furthered its mission for quality, compassionate mental health care and substance use treatment on Thursday, September 28 with an open house for its brand new location for its Recovery Center in Valparaiso. The new facility, located at 2507 Cumberland Dr., officially opened in June and is now in the position to further expand all-inclusive recovery care for those experiencing opioid addiction.
Porter-Starke brought its Recovery Center to Northwest Indiana around 15 years ago in February of 2008 after seeing just how many people were misusing opioids across the Region. The previous center was in a smaller facility with space that limited just how much Porter-Starke could offer its patients. To solve this problem, the mental health facility sought to expand by renovating a new and bigger center just down the road from the previous location.
A main feature of the new location includes three windows for patients to receive their methadone, a medication to treat addiction patients. Porter-Starke has offered a methadone program to patients as they ease their way off of opioids, and Medical Director and Addiction Psychiatrist Sajiv John calls the medication a major stepping stone in the recovery process.
“Medication is not the only treatment. Medication is part of the treatment,” he said. “Counseling is as important as medication; if you don't get on methadone and stabilize first, you're not going to be able to do counseling. You cannot do counseling if you're worried about getting sick, so let's get the methadone part under control to get the addiction part under control. That's what we've tried for the last 15-16 years, and I hope this keeps going this way forward.”
“Methadone has been around for over 50 years,” added Director of the Recovery Center Richard Cook. “It's the most researched medication for opioid use disorder treatment and is considered the gold standard. It's a safe medication. It's highly monitored. The patients here are required to do counseling and they're required to do drug screens and it's a very structured program, so it's not just a dose and leave kind of program.”
In addition to the medication, the center also has offices and spaces for nurse practitioners, recovery coaches, case managers, psychiatrists, therapists, and others to work with patients in any way possible to help them on their road to recovery.
Making this new center happen was made possible through the efforts of many. Porter-Starke President/CEO Matt Burden extended a special thanks to many, including Porter-Starke Board of Directors Chair Susan Kelly-Johnson, stakeholders, the local community, as well as a few others.
“I also want to acknowledge Indiana's Division of Mental Health and Addiction, the DMHA, for all their support throughout this process,” said Burden “Our state and federal elected officials have really taken addiction and thought about it in a new light, provided funding, and it's been just a different world, especially through the opioid epidemic. We have Greg Simms here representing the Porter County Council. He, the commissioners, and the council of Porter County gave nonprofits like ours a substantial dollar amount to make the investment that you see here today.”
Simms was moved to see the impact his contributions have made in person during the open house. While he believed he played just a small part, his part resulted in a long-lasting positive impact that has made a wonderful difference in the Porter County community.
“This is definitely one that was not only necessary, but it's also a beacon. It's a proud moment for all of us, the directors, the board, and everyone else. I'm just a small part of it, someone came up with a conversation and said ‘That sounds like a good idea, but what can we do to make this happen?’” he said. “People want safety. I want a safe community, too, and this helps anchor that. We need it, so let's get it, let's utilize it, and let's make sure people know about it so that there's nobody that says ‘I didn't know this existed’ or ‘I didn't know that, wow, there's a place to get some help.’”
While more space for services was a driving force in creating a new Recovery Center, the new center was also inspired by none other than the late Founding Director of the Recovery Center at Porter-Starke Carmen Arlt (formerly Carmen Pearman).
Arlt’s life mission was to open a methadone clinic to help those suffering from addiction. She strongly understood that more went into treating addiction than just an occasional dose of medication, and had a personality that just radiated kindness and compassion. It was her good-hearted nature that inspired hope and recovery in the lives of many, and Porter-Starke designated the new Recovery Center in her honor as a way to keep Arlt's legacy alive for many years to come.
“I believe that Carmen was the driving force of opening up the Recovery Center. As a matter of fact, I'm 100% certain that if it wasn't for Carmen we wouldn't be here today celebrating,” said Cook. “She planted seeds of hope, she nurtured them with care, and she watched them grow into stories of change and transformation. Her legacy is not just in the brick and mortar of the Recovery Center, but it's in the lives of the patients that she touched, and the futures of the patients that she helped rebuild.”
David “Dave” Pearman, Starke County council member and also Arlt’s son, has always been inspired by his mother’s passion for helping others fight addiction. Now an elected official in a county that has felt the impact of addiction, he was brought to tears seeing just how much Porter-Starke is advancing to help those battle the dangerous disease.
“I want to thank Porter-Starke for honoring my mother,” he said. “She absolutely dedicated her life to her work at Porter-Starke and accepted the challenge of addressing the unique needs of every single patient. Even when her illness had progressed, she never stopped serving, learning, and advocating her mission with all of those that would listen and help including local state, federal entities and officials.”
A plaque with Arlt's name, photo, and story now hangs on the wall in the lobby of the new Recovery Center, as a strong reminder that even in the most difficult of times, help is always available, and recovery will always be possible.
To learn more about how Porter-Starke Services is changing, helping, and inspiring lives throughout Northwest Indiana, visit its website at porterstarke.org.
