Recovery Centers of America (RCA) on Thursday debuted the expansion of its Medication-Assisted-Treatment (MAT) program by opening two facilities in Middlesex and Camden counties to help New Jerseyans suffering from opioid addiction.

The openings bring the total number of standalone RCA opioid treatment programs in New Jersey to four, and the total number of substance use disorder treatment programs in the Garden State to seven.

Located at 670 U.S. Highway 1 N. in Iselin, the Woodbridge Healthcare Clinic will serve residents of Middlesex, Union and Essex counties in treating opioid addiction. The Woodbridge Healthcare Clinic is 10 minutes from Recovery Centers of America at Raritan Bay, RCA’s second inpatient/outpatient substance use disorder treatment facility. In addition to providing methadone and suboxone medications and outpatient services, Woodbridge Healthcare Clinic provides short- and long-term detoxification services, assessments, and a program for pregnant women.

RCA also opened an office-based opioid treatment program (OBOT) in Camden County, next to its comprehensive MAT facility, Bravo Medical located at 8 Somerdale Square, 1200 White Horse Road in Somerdale.  At Camden County Suboxone, opioid use disorder patients can elect to receive their suboxone prescriptions in a physician’s office setting with flexible scheduling of appointments once a week and eventually once a month.

More than 1,800 New Jersey residents died from suspected drug overdoses from Jan. 1 of this year to July 31, 2020—the majority from opioid overdoses.

In Middlesex County alone, there have been 132 suspected overdose deaths so far in 2020, with 634 people resuscitated with naloxone (also called Narcan). Similar numbers were reported in Camden County with 145 suspected overdose deaths in that time period, and 1,510 naloxone revivals.

RCA utilizes U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved medications – methadone and suboxone – to treat patients with opioid addictions and said it employs compassionate, dedicated staff committed to helping others.

“When people who are in active addiction stop using drugs, the early effects of withdrawal can be unbearable, causing physical sickness and emotional distress. It makes carrying out day to day activities almost impossible. But with medication such as methadone and suboxone, patients become stable enough to begin working toward their recovery without the often-paralyzing fear of withdrawal,” said Bryan Smith, executive director at the Woodbridge Healthcare Clinic.

Of the FDA approved medications for opioid use disorder, methadone provides the strongest protection against withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings, according to RCA. Patients who take methadone are dosed daily by registered nurses at RCA clinics. Suboxone is another effective form of MAT but does not require daily dosing.