The aftermath of the deluge of prescription pain pills that flooded New Jersey and other states in the last decade continues to cause an increased need for addiction treatment services for opioid dependency.
SOMERDALE, N.J., Aug. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The aftermath of the deluge of prescription pain pills that flooded New Jersey and other states in the last decade continues to cause an increased need for addiction treatment services for opioid dependency. To meet that need, Recovery Centers of America (“RCA”) today opened a second opioid treatment program offering MAT outside of Philadelphia, Bravo Healthcare Clinic in Somerdale, NJ.
Over 1.5 billion prescription pain pills were supplied to New Jersey residents from 2006 to 2012 according to DEA files. In Camden County, where RCA’s new Bravo Medication Assisted Treatment Clinic is located, over 152 million pain pills flooded the county through pharmacies and online producers --enough for 42 pills for every man, woman, and child in the county.
Dr. Michael DeShields, Medical Director of Bravo Medical, located at 10 Somerdale Square, 1200 White Horse Pike, Somerdale, NJ 08083, said that “We are in the middle of an opioid epidemic and MAT is the most proven intervention and treatment in combating opiate abuse.” Dr. DeShields explained that methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone are needed tools particularly to help combat the powerful opioids of today, such as fentanyl.
RCA is committed to offering MAT at its inpatient treatment centers and at stand-alone MAT facilities such as Bravo Healthcare Clinic and its facility in Trenton.
Melissa Bishop, RCA’s Director of MAT Services, explained that MAT needs to be a local service because many patients must obtain medication daily prior to work or school. Bravo Medical’s location provides easy access to this medication for Camden County patients and those from other nearby areas where the need is high.
“RCA is excited to bring to the community a high-quality MAT program with a focus on counseling to support sustained recovery for patients suffering from an opioid addiction. Addiction is a disease and providing medication for patients suffering from the devastating effects of this disease is vital to recovery. Each person’s treatment regimen is unique and all tools are needed to combat addiction including traditional abstinence and 12-step programs and MAT. Whatever works for an individual should be available and there should be no stigma attached to any treatment.”
RCA accepts New Jersey State Medicaid at its new MAT Clinic.
Medication Assisted Treatment utilizes FDA approved medications to treat patients with an addiction to opioids. Methadone is a medication that changes how the brain and nervous system respond to pain. It lessens the painful symptoms of opiate withdrawal and blocks the euphoric effects of opioid drugs such as heroin, morphine and codeine as well as semi-synthetic opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone. It is offered in liquid form at the RCA site. It is to be prescribed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that includes counseling and participation in social support programs.
Another form of medication is Suboxone, administered as a film that is slipped under the tongue. Suboxone contains the active ingredients buprenorphine and naloxone (also called Narcan) which minimizes cravings so that patients stay in treatment and has a ceiling effect for protecting from overdose.
To be eligible, a patient must be physiologically addicted to heroin or other opioids for at least one year.
RCA’s new Bravo Clinic in Somerdale also provides detox services and treats pregnant women addicted to opioids.
Recovery Centers of America provides evidence-based comprehensive addiction treatment at six inpatient facilities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Maryland. A full spectrum of outpatient treatment is also provided at many of these facilities and in Vorhees, NJ.
Contact: Terri C. Malenfant
Recovery Centers of America
tmalenfant@recoverycoa.com
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SOURCE Recovery Centers of America
