Porter-Starke’s methadone clinic that opened earlier this year has received a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

Porter-Starke, which opened the Recovery Center in March, received the notification of the accreditation on Monday. The clinic, which provides an opiate replacement therapy for patients, is located on Cumberland Drive in Valparaiso.

Porter-Starke said the three-year accreditation is CARF’s highest award and signifies that the mental health agency meets or exceeds the standards prescribed by the accreditation body. Two CARF surveyors spent two days in Valparaiso surveying the program, reviewing policy, observing processes and meeting with staff, clients and stakeholders in early December.

"Opening an opiate replacement program takes a tremendous amount of work, expertise and oversight,” said Porter-Starke’s President and CEO David Lomaka. “I’m very proud of our leadership team, including Rocco Schiralli and Carmen Arlt, who did much of the administrative legwork to make this a reality.”

Schiralli, currently a vice-president at Porter-Starke, will replace Lomaka, who is resigning his CEO post next month to relocate to Florida. Arlt, director of Porter-Starkes Recovery Center, is a 10-year employee of the agency who has received local and national recognition for her work in methadone treatment.

Expanding methadone treatment programs for addicts in Indiana was one of the recommendations contained in a 2005 Roosevelt University study that analyzed Porter County’s heroin and opiate problem. In a comparison with large U.S. cities, the report found that Porter County ranked third in the rate of emergency room visits involving heroin and 10th in the opiate death rate for ages 18 to 25.

The Roosevelt study was commissioned jointly by Porter-Starke and by the non-profit Community Action Drug Coalition. The report led to a successful effort that lifted what essentially was a state moratorium on additional methadone clinics in the area.

“CARF does not award accreditations lightly, so this award demonstrates our organization’s commitment to providing the best possible care that meets a set of rigorous standards. Our community can be assured and confident in the quality of care offered at Porter-Starke Services,” Lomaka said in a statement.