When a family member, friend, or someone important to you has opioid use disorder (OUD) and needs professional support with medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) at a Suboxone® clinic in Brick, NJ, then you should inform them that the best possible professional addiction treatment and support is available nearby. Our Suboxone® Clinic in Brick, NJ, supports patients with heroin addiction, opioid addiction, prescription opioid addiction, fentanyl addiction, and more.
The ongoing overdose crisis in the U.S. affects people from all walks of life. From construction workers to doctors, movie stars to working moms, no one is immune – and that includes the people of Brick, New Jersey, where Pinnacle Treatment Centers provides addiction treatment services at Ocean Monmouth Care and Suboxone® Services of Brick.
Suboxone® Clinics and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
Suboxone® clinics are facilities that meet all the government requirements to support patients with opioid use disorder with medication-assisted treatment (MAT). An addiction treatment program that offers MAT may use one of three medications: suboxone, methadone, and naltrexone. A Suboxone® clinic uses one of these medications in particular – Suboxone® – which is a formulation that includes both buprenorphine and naltrexone. Our Suboxone® Clinics in Brick, NJ use this formulation, which evidence shows can dramatically improve the lives of people with heroin addiction, fentanyl addiction, and other types of opioid use disorder.
Suboxone® Clinics in Brick, NJ: Medications for Addiction
Suboxone® includes two medications: buprenorphine and naltrexone.
What is Buprenorphine?
Buprenorphine is called a partial opioid agonist because it can bind with the opioid receptors in the human brain, but not completely. It takes up enough of the receptors to prevent other opioids – heroin and fentanyl, for instance – from occupying the receptors and causing the euphoria associated with opioid use. In addition to blocking this effect, it also reduces cravings for opioids and mitigates the severity of opioid withdrawal symptoms.
What is Naltrexone?
Naltrexone works differently than buprenorphine. Rather than partially binding to the opioid receptors in the human brain, it completely blocks any type of opioid – especially drugs of misuse and disordered use like heroin and fentanyl – from binding to opioid receptors. When a person takes naltrexone, they don’t experience the euphoria associated with opioids, which prevents the misuse of Suboxone®. In addition, if a person takes naltrexone while using any opioid, it can cause that person to enter opioid withdrawal. In this way, the naltrexone acts as a deterrent for the use of other opioids, and the diversion or improper use of Suboxone®.
Why Suboxone®? The Harm Reduction Movement
Harm reduction is an approach to addiction that first appeared in Europe in the 1990s. The success of harm reduction programs like medication-assisted treatment, clean syringe programs, and access to overdose reversal medication convinced authorities in the U.S. to adopt harm reduction measures in response to our opioid and drug overdose crisis.
The state of New Jersey passed a series of laws in 2022 prioritizing harm reduction strategies to mitigate the negative effects of the opioid crisis. New Jersey State Assemblywoman Annette Quijano describes the importance of this new legislation:
“Harm reduction sites provide critical services…while honoring the dignity of those living with a substance use disorder. These programs are staffed by professionals who can help limit the risks of intravenous drug use…while providing a safe, stigma-free environment in which to receive care. This legislation will help make it easier for these programs to be approved and maintained going forward.”
The legislature passed these laws based on an extensive body of evidence that shows harm reduction has the following benefits:
- Connects people to the gold-standard treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD)
- Provides the overdose reversal medication naloxone to first responders, medical personnel, and people at high risk of overdose
- Decreases the risk and transmission of infectious diseases associated with intravenous drug use
- Decreases stigma associated with addiction
In addition, evidence shows medication-assisted treatment with Suboxone® can:
- Reduce opioid use
- Increase time-in-treatment
- Decrease all-cause mortality for people with OUD
- Improve family, social, vocational, and academic functioning
- Decrease rates of fatal overdose
If you or a loved one has opioid use disorder and needs heroin addiction treatment, please encourage them to arrange a full screening for addiction, so they can receive an accurate diagnosis and begin effective treatment as soon as possible at a Suboxone® Clinic in Brick, NJ.
Comprehensive, Integrated Addiction Treatment at Pinnacle Treatment Centers
Treatment at Ocean Monmouth Care and/or Suboxone® Services of Brick is about more than the medication. Our team supports our patients on any level they accept. Options in our treatment plans are varied, and include:
- Counseling, therapy, psychological support
- MAT with Suboxone®
- Education on healthy habits that promote recovery
- Recovery education
- Auxiliary support like yoga, meditation, and mindfulness
- Access to peer support, including 12-step programs
- Aftercare/case management
While all these options are available, not every patient engages every single one: the components of a treatment program depend on factors unique to each individual.
Finding Addiction Treatment in Brick, NJ
If you or a loved one need to find a Suboxone® Clinic in Brick, NJ, contact out team us Ocean Monmouth Care or Suboxone® Services of Brick.
Additional resources for finding high-quality treatment for substance use disorder are available here:
- Addiction Treatment Providers -Treatment Directory Application (rutgers.edu)
- 1-844 ReachNJ.GOV at (844) 732-2465 (for people without insurance)
- Call (844) 276-2777 for 24/7/365 for referral and emergency support from Rutgers University
- SAMHSA treatment finder
If you or a loved one needs help finding a Suboxone® Clinic in Brick, NJ, please don’t hesitate. Evidence shows that sooner a person who requires professional support receives that professional support, the greater their chances of a successful treatment and recovery journey.
The Overdose Epidemic: Statistics for the U.S. and Ocean County, NJ
Over the past 25 years, more than a million people have lost their lives to fatal overdose. Close to 75 percent of those deaths included opioids such as heroin, prescription opioids, and fentanyl. As overdose rates increase, so do our efforts to offer more people lifesaving care in the form of MAT with Suboxone® at our clinics in Brick, NJ.
To reiterate the need for this gold-standard care for OUD, we’ll review the overdose reports for the last five years. We retrieved this information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Five-Year Trends in Overdose, United States
- 2018: 67,850
- 2019: 71,130
- 2020: 92,478
- 2021: 106,699
- 2022: 108,388
Over that time period, overdose fatalities rose by 60 percent. To see the data for Brick, where we operate Ocean Monmouth Care and Suboxone® Services of Brick, we’ll use the latest reports for Ocean County. You can find more data on Brick and Ocean County via the New Jersey Opioid Dashboard and /or the NJ Cares Opioid-Related Data website.
Six-Year Trends in Opioid Overdose, Ocean County
- 2018: 219
- 2019: 204
- 2020: 245
- 2021: 242
- 2022: 186
- 2023: 168
When we look at numbers in the tens or hundreds of thousands, like the national data, or numbers in the hundreds, like the data from Ocean County, it can be hard to get perspective on what they really mean on a human level. Our perspective is this: any overdose fatality is a tragedy for that individual, their family, and the people who love them.
This report shows us an encouraging downward trend. However, citizens of Brick need the best addiction treatment available. Experts call MAT with Suboxone® the gold-standard treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Treatment for OUD with Suboxone® is available at our Suboxone® Clinics in Brick, NJ.
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