Misc. Information
MISCONDUCT
Our program’s goal is to treat our clients with dignity and respect and help them to feel accepted. In return we expect our clients to treat each other and our staff with respect as well. Loitering, abusive language, threatening language, arguing with staff or with any client at the clinic will not be tolerated. You are an adult, we expect you to act like it. Be respectful of others at all times.
Physical threats, assault, carrying or concealing any weapons WILL result in immediate dismissal (administrative discharge). Any and all violations will be reported to the police department. Charges will be filed if appropriate. Committing a crime on our premises or against staff or other clients will nullify your confidentiality with respect to providing demographic information to the police.
Suspected or confirmed selling or distributing drugs to anyone around the facility may result in administrative discharge. Selling, loaning, or providing methadone, buprenorphine, or any other controlled substance to anyone other than the client for which it is intended may also result in administrative discharge.
If you are administratively discharged from our program for any of the above violations of conduct, readmission to our program at a later date may be denied at the discretion of the program director.
PARKING
Please be sure that you park in the appropriate parking spaces in front of the building. Some spaces are reserved for neighboring businesses; please do not park in these spaces despite the time of day. When leaving the facility, please do not “car hop” or visit with friends in the parking lot. This is discouraged because it gives the impression of loitering to our business neighbors and it detracts from the professional atmosphere we are trying to maintain. Furthermore, in the treatment community in particular, opioid replacement treatment program such as ours have difficulty being accepted as well as our clients. To help reduce the stigma of this type of treatment, please cooperate with our expectations of your behavior in and around our facility.
DRESS CODE
Please respect other as well as yourself and dress appropriately. A general policy is “NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO DOSE”. If you have questions regarding the appropriateness of an outfit, please don’t wear it. Please refrain from wearing clothing with statements or implications about the acceptability of using drugs or alcohol. This type of clothing may be counter-productive for some of our clients. Please wear clothing that covers the important parts of your body to not be overly revealing. Think “casual, yet professional”. Shoes are important; the area around of the facility may have sharp objects such as glass or needles on the ground.
LEGAL OBLIGATIONS
Parole, probation, pending cases, outstanding charges, etc. should be discussed with your counselor and/or the physician. Information will not be release to any attorney, judge or court officer without your written consent or court order. Since many probation/parole agreements require you to have weekly counseling, all such clients should anticipate seeing their counselor on a more frequent basis. A judge may issue a court order for drug treatment; this does not include opioid replacement treatment under most circumstances.
DRIVING
Since methadone is a Schedule II Controlled Substance and buprenorphine is a Schedule III Controlled Substance, and each can cause impairment according to Kansas state law, you may receive a charge and be convicted of Driving Under the Influence/Driving While Intoxicated. If you are driving with the medication in your vehicle, the medication must be in its properly labeled bottle. Otherwise, you may receive a drug related charge. Please do not keep other medications in your methadone or buprenorphine bottles because this too is illegal.
If you drive or have a job that requires good reflexes or precision, your abilities should not be impaired to prevent you from working if you are on a stable, appropriate dose of methadone or buprenorphine. Your methadone or buprenorphine dose, when taken appropriately, should not affect motor control or motor skills, vigilance, concentration or thinking. Some research indicates clients improve in these areas while in opioids maintenance treatment compared to when they used illicit substances.
FAMILY
Your family has probably suffered as a result of your addiction. At the same time, your family may be the most help for you in recovery. The quality of your relationship with your family, especially your children, and the behavior you display towards them strongly influences the type of person they will be in the future. Studies confirm that the children of parents who drink alcohol and use drugs are at an increased risk of abusing alcohol and drugs themselves. Therefore, it is important that you involve your family in your treatment since they may perhaps desire help learning to adjust to your new “recovery” behavior. This would be an excellent time to get your family involved in drug prevention.
CHILD CARE
We do not encourage bringing children to the clinic during dosing hours. However, if it necessary to bring your child/children to the clinic, you must NOT leave your child/children in the car without adult supervision. Inside the clinic, your child/children must accompany you and be supervised by you at all times. We will not and do not assume responsibility for your child/children while at the clinic.
SEXUALITY
Loving, caring relationships begin and grow once recovery begins. Self-esteem and self-image are in a state of flux and are central to how you relate to your significant others. No one likes to talk openly about a problem with intimacy, physical and mental abuse or sexual functioning, but trying to ignore the problem is a serious threat to recovery. Methadone and buprenorphine may have a side effect with both men and women that may negatively affect their ability to enjoy sexual relationships. We encourage you to discuss any unsatisfactory aspects of intimate relationships with your counselor, your partner and/or our physician. In many situations, these problems have solutions that our organization can help you with. If you wish, we can also make a referral to an outside organization to help you investigate these problems as well.