New Jersey: Opioid Addiction Struggles & Treatment Options
In 2017, almost 71,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses, and 70 percent of those overdoses involved an opioid drug.
New Jersey struggles with its own specific opioid abuse and overdose problems. For example, the opioid overdose death rate rose between 2019 and 2020. In 2019, 3,021 people in the northeastern state died from a drug overdose involving an opioid, while in 2020, that number rose to 3,046.
This rise may be associated with the complexities and emotional struggles associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. More people faced unknown stresses, unemployment, and other related problems.
These overdose death rates rose compared to 2018 as well. That year, 2,583 New Jersey residents overdosed and died because of opioid drugs, which represented 90 percent of all the drug overdose deaths in the state that year.
At the same time, New Jersey medical providers wrote 38.9 prescriptions for opioid painkillers for every 100 people, which is lower than the national average of 51.4. In New Jersey, this is the lowest rate since data became available on prescription rates in 2006, suggesting that some mitigation and drug treatment plans are working.
Opioid Addiction Treatment at Boca Recovery Center in Galloway, NJ
The Galloway branch of Boca Recovery Center is the newest addition to Boca’s treatment programs. The facility has 22 beds and specializes in medically supervised detox and inpatient rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addiction. People struggling with opioid use disorder in particular can find help at the Galloway branch of Boca Recovery.
The Galloway center has 24-hour supervision to ensure that people overcoming opiate or other addictions get the best possible treatment as soon as they need it. Living on site, with access to medical professionals, ensures the safest withdrawal process possible.
For people overcoming opioid use disorder, managing early withdrawal symptoms and reaching physical equilibrium will help the long-term recovery process.
Types of Treatment Programs Offered in New Jersey With Boca Recovery
Galloway offers several levels of care, which is important for people beginning the addiction recovery process. These are in line with the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s (ASAM’s) continuum of care, providing the potential for individualized treatment at every stage of the recovery process.
- Medical detox: This process is the first step in long-term recovery. It typically involves ending physical dependence on drugs or alcohol by quitting use in a supervised environment.With supervision from doctors and nurses, opiate withdrawal symptoms can be monitored, and mitigating treatment for nausea, anxiety, and other symptoms can be safely administered. If any symptoms become potentially dangerous, treatment can be administered or the individual can be moved to a more intensive environment, like a hospital.Medically supervised detox is different from Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), in which medications like buprenorphine might be administered. For people with opioid use disorder, medically supervised detox is becoming less common.
- Residential treatment: This is a term covering levels of traditional inpatient treatment, in which the individual lives in the treatment setting and has their day scheduled for them, with recreational breaks, medication, meals, and counseling all provided. For people who need to get out of their home environment to achieve stability in sober living, residential treatment is the best approach.
- Partial hospitalization: This is a lower level of residential treatment, combining short-term residency in a treatment facility or hospital with outpatient treatment. The individual may start in a hospital or high-risk inpatient treatment setting to begin safe detox, but they can often stabilize and move to an outpatient approach to treatment, although this might be intensive outpatient care.
- Intensive outpatient: This is a form of treatment that allows the individual to live at home, but typically requires multiple hours a day or week in counseling and mutual support groups. Although living at home can provide social support, the time requirement is similar to that of inpatient treatment, which helps recognize and change compulsive behaviors associated with substance abuse.
- Standard outpatient: This is one of the least intense levels of addiction treatment. It is suitable for people who have safely completed detox and can return to a safe, supportive home environment. Many people, especially with the help of MAT, are able to manage some work and family responsibilities while they also go through counseling and attend support groups to overcome patterns of addiction.
Medication-Assisted Treatment in Galloway, NJ
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is becoming more effective at supporting people overcoming opioid use disorders. Buprenorphine-based medicines like Suboxone last for a long time in the brain, easing withdrawal symptoms and cravings, which allows those ending opioid addiction to focus on other parts of treatment, like counseling.
The goal of MAT is full recovery, although tapering off prescribed medicines can take weeks or months, depending on individual needs.
MAT is an important addition to addiction treatment, as it can help people safely become physically stable, maintain personal and professional responsibilities, and focus on behavioral change. Boca Recovery Center can prescribe buprenorphine, naltrexone, and naloxone MAT options.
Methadone is still an important medication for people overcoming opioid addiction, but it is prescribed and monitored at specialized clinics, so Boca Recovery does not currently offer this option.
Addiction Treatment Resources in New Jersey
New Jersey offers great resources for addiction treatment services. Not only do Galloway residents benefit from access to Boca Recovery Center, but they are also supported by NJ’s state laws and health care protections.
For example, in 2013, New Jersey expanded Medicaid support for mental health and substance use treatment. This was in line with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which allowed Medicaid services to cover more types of treatment. It required health insurance programs to offer some coverage for mental and behavioral care, including addiction treatment services.
Earlier, in 2011, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) was formed to offer treatment services to New Jersey residents, including providing a hotline and a directory for those in need.
While this expansion is important for those without health insurance or who need additional treatment, there are other services that can offer support for the ongoing recovery process. Some of these include the following:
- Galloway, NJ, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings
- Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings near Galloway, New Jersey
- SMART Recovery meetings in Galloway, NJ
- New Jersey Al-Anon support group meetings new Galloway, NJ, for friends and family of those overcoming addiction
- Opioids. (October 2021). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Governor Murphy Reaffirms Commitment to End the Opioid Epidemic, Releases Final 2020 Year-End Overdose Death Data. (March 2021). Official Site of the State of New Jersey.
- New Jersey: Opioid-Involved Deaths and Related Harms. (April 2020). National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
- Optimizing Use of the ASAM Continuum Assessment. County of Los Angeles Public Health.
- Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). (December 2021). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- MAT Medications, Counseling, and Related Conditions. (November 2021). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- Expanded Medicaid Will Cover Mental Health, Substance-Abuse Treatment. (September 2013). NJ Spotlight News.
- Mental Health & Substance Abuse Coverage. HealthCare.gov.
- Current Administrative Rules and Regulations. State of New Jersey, Department of Human Services (DHS).