New Season Mobile Treatment Unit Brings MAT Services to Burlington Health Department

New Season Treatment Center announced a partnership with the Alamance County Health Department on March 10 to add a Burlington stop to its "On the Road to Recovery" Mobile Medication Unit, bringing Medication-Assisted Treatment and telehealth services to a county that has no opioid treatment program of its own.

The mobile unit operates out of New Season's Greensboro Treatment Center, which state regulations require as the brick-and-mortar base for any mobile opioid treatment program. The announcement laid out a daily schedule for the Alamance stop, though the specific hours were not publicly detailed. The Greensboro stop, hosted at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church at 200 N. Regan St., runs from 6 to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Bethel AME is the home church of New Season Program Director Preston Evans.

The case for expanding to Burlington is straightforward. Some patients at the Greensboro clinic already travel 45 minutes or more for care, and Alamance County residents have had no local OTP option at all. "There's a whole population of people who are not getting care at all," said Jim Shaheen, CEO of New Season. "And there is a whole population of people that we see in the clinic that are absent a lot, and the reason they're absent is transportation."

Anna Stanley, who oversees North Carolina's medication programs for opioid use disorder statewide, said mobile units exist precisely for situations like Alamance County's. "They help us reach people who have been historically underserved — our folks that live in rural areas, or folks who do not have access to transportation, or just those who wouldn't feel safe walking into a traditional OTP clinic," Stanley said.

NCDHHS Deputy Secretary for Health Debra Farrington echoed that framing. "We are committed to meeting people where they are on their journey to recovery," Farrington said. "We are grateful for partnerships with New Season Treatment Center and others that increase access to care and ensure everyone who needs treatment can receive it in the setting that is right for them."

New Season operates nine clinics across North Carolina and more than 80 treatment centers across 20 states, having provided opioid use disorder care since 1986. State health officials have indicated as many as 10 mobile units could be operating across North Carolina in the coming months. New Season is also partnering with The Jason Foundation to establish Community Resource Centers inside 35 of its MAT programs nationwide, creating on-site access to education and resources connecting opioid use disorder with mental health support. "By joining forces with The Jason Foundation, we can expand our reach and impact in combating substance use disorders and associated mental health issues," Shaheen said. "Together, we are better equipped to provide education, support, and hope to those in need."

Shaheen pointed to New Season's first mobile clinic in Portland, Oregon as proof of concept, saying the company saw measurable positive impact there and expects the same result in Alamance County.