This month, the Washington DC metro area became the home of one of the largest addiction treatment centers in the world. The new facility represents a notable expansion in the local healthcare industry and may positively affect those in need of substance use disorder treatment in the area.
The new treatment center is located in Waldorf, M.D. — a community located roughly 20 miles south of Washington DC — and will focus on community-based approaches to help recovering patients.
The center is expected to provide employment to roughly 200 people and be able to welcome about 2,500 patients a year when operating at full capacity.
The addiction treatment center, dubbed Recovery Centers of America at Waldorf, has a total of 140 beds to accommodate patients who enroll in one of their inpatient programs or are going through drug detox.
Outpatient and residential addiction treatment programs are also available to community members and the clinic has been equipped with health care providers who specialize in co-occurring mental health disorders to better address patients’ needs.
Local officials have stated that because of the large capacity of the new addiction treatment center, it is estimated that the new facility will bring at least $40 million to the area in every fiscal year.
The revenue is expected to cause a positive impact on the Washington DC metropolitan economy and at the same time improve the overall local public health.
The latest addition to the Washington DC addiction treatment industry may be of crucial importance to the public as the local residents are currently underserved, according to recent data released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
SAMHSA estimates show that Washington DC residents who have a substance use disorder need to have more access to recovery services, particularly services such as medication-assisted treatment.
Moreover, Washington DC had rates of drug and alcohol-related fatal suicides go up more than 58 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to a new report by the Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust.
The report, released in November, also revealed that… (continue reading)
Author: Livia Areas-Holmblad
Livia Holmblad is an editor at Addiction Now and covers breaking news, features and everything in between. She moved to SoCal after living in NYC for about 10 years, where she worked for VICE and SinoVision as a writer, editor, host, producer, and director. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Contact Livia at liviah@addictionnow.com
