New Cape clinic to help opioid addicts

A new clinic in Cape Girardeau aims to help patients battling an opioid addiction.

Brightstone Medical, a medication-assisted therapy clinic, opened Aug. 6 at 36 Doctors� Park, suite 2, according to a company news release.

In 2017 alone, Missouri saw 951 deaths from opioid overdose, according to www.opioid.mo.gov.

Six of those deaths were in Cape Girardeau County, according to earlier reporting by the Southeast Missourian.

The need for opioid-related treatment options spurred the clinic�s opening, company spokesman Robbie Spurlock said.

Tony Thompson, CEO of EBO MD, poses for a photo Aug. 29, 2017, outside Cape Family Practice in Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

�Just about every health-care provider is experiencing some aspect of the opioid problem,� Spurlock said. �People don�t know what to do, and there isn�t a lot available in our region.�

The clinic�s founders saw an opportunity to help give back to the community by helping people fight back against dependence on opioid painkillers, Spurlock added.

�We�re looking at a bigger picture [treatment] rather than focusing just on the addiction,� Tony Thompson, one of Brightstone�s founders, and CEO of EBO MD, said by phone Friday. �We�re looking at a different approach to get people off of the revolving-door approach � trying to provide other resources and primary care to address underlying concerns.�

Brightstone accepts referrals from other health-care providers, and can provide assistance navigating the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prescribing guidelines around opiates, according to the release.

Referrals may also come from courts or other state agencies.

�At Brightstone, once a patient is established and doing well with their plan, they can come less frequently,� Thompson said in the release. �Not having to come daily allows our patients to participate normally with their families � and with their employers.�

Mike Stevenson, DO, Brightstone�s medical director, said in the release, �Once medication is adjusted to the patient, they will return in a week and be re-evaluated. All the while the patient is observed for safety and how medications are working. Once the patient is stable, the follow-ups can be lengthened out accordingly.�

Each plan will be tailored to fit individual needs, the release stated.

Brightstone staff can also help patients file insurance claims, according to the release.

Cape Girardeau County, nine other Missouri counties and the City of Joplin have filed suit against pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic.

The suit was filed Aug. 1 in St. Louis circuit court, and seeks damages for �reimbursement of public costs expended fighting this opioid epidemic and a claim for future costs.�

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630