PORT JERVIS – Very tentative plans by Newburgh-based Cornerstone Family Healthcare to establish a methadone/suboxone clinic in Port Jervis prompted a lot of comment at Monday night’s common council meeting.
Possible locations that had been mentioned, or rumored, were the former Dr. Sunnyside Hospital, which is not available, the Glinton Building, attached by walkway to Bon Secours Community Hospital on East Main Street and the Hunt Building on Lower Pike Street.
Glinton Building
Hunt Building
Mayor Kelly Decker emphasized, at length, that nothing is definite and there is not even a proposal before the city. He has, however, had conversations with Cornerstone.
“I actually rejected the idea that they could just put it
in any business downtown,” Decker said. “I told them
that it really should be in a medical facility for many reasons, and that
the best place to put it would be the Glinton Building which is across
the street from the hospital.”
Three residents spoke against the idea, saying, in essence, they just don’t want it in the city. Denise Conklin-Billman, who lives on East Main Street, near the hospital, said she understands the need.
“If the clinic was located in Port Jervis, people would save on tax dollars that aren’t being spent to transfer these patients to Newburgh that could go back into the community,” Conklin-Billman said, adding she hopes the community and city officials, including the mayor, can come together on a workable solution in the city.
Decker said he would like an open community forum on the possibility, perhaps next month.
