MOORHEAD – Clay County has decided to expand its medical detox center in Moorhead amid a recent rash of heroin overdoses in the region.
County officials said the decision was not specifically tied to the recent opiate overdoses, but to a general increase in demand for drug recovery services.
The detox center at 715 11th St. N. also takes in "clients" from outside the county. Other Minnesota counties as well as facilities in Fargo refer clients and pay a "reimbursement fee" of $320 a day, which is expected to pay for the detox expansion.
"We don't want to have to turn anyone away," said Detox Director Troy Amundsen. "We have seen an increase in clients from North Dakota. ... The detox unit in Fergus Falls recently closed, so we have seen clients from there. There are not a lot of beds available, really, until you get to St. Cloud or Park Rapids."
The detox center faces the additional challenge of dealing with clients using a broader range of drugs or combining them.
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Amundsen said a "long time ago" the prevalent substances were alcohol and some marijuana.
Now "we're seeing the heroin, the cocaine, the meth. You just see more," he said. "It's not just one substance, it's usually multiple substances."
The County Commission recently approved Amundsen's request to expand the detox from 10 beds to 16 beds, a return to the detox's some size years ago. The expansion needs approval at the state level.
The center is unique in that is is a medical detox, which means it can offer medication and a nurse is always on duty, said Clay County Administrator Brian Berg.
