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On January 17, 2023, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) opened a Narcotic Treatment Program (NTP) in Long Beach, California. The nonprofit, full-service behavioral healthcare organization serves adults and youth across Los Angeles County. Located at 5190 Atlantic Avenue, the TTC NTP provides behavioral and medical treatment services to address the opioid crisis.

The Narcotic Treatment Program provides counseling, case management, recovery support, and Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) Services. Therefore, the medical and behavioral health teams work collaboratively to meet patients’ substance use disorder (SUD) treatment needs. In addition, the NTP helps patients develop healthy coping skills as they embark on the road to recovery from alcohol and drug use.

Available medications help patients reduce withdrawal symptoms and better manage their cravings. Once the opioid receptors in the brain are blocked, patients can focus on recovery. Given the power of opioid dependence, such medications often allow for what seemed like a hopeless state of mind and body to be managed and eventually overcome.

Following the statutory and regulatory requirements of the California Department of Health Care Service (DHCS), the new NTP helps people recover. Furthermore, TTC ensures the program’s ability to boost the safety and well-being of the patients, the community, and the public. Unquestionably, lives are at stake.

According to provisional data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 109,699 people died of a drug overdose in the 12 months ending March 2022. To put it in perspective, that number equals the seating capacity of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Moreover, synthetic opioids contributed to most of these deaths. The clinical staff at TTC Long Beach knows the devastating effects of opioids on patients.

Narcotic Treatment Program Services

Narcotic Treatment Programs are a major California initiative to combat opioid use disorder (OUD), including the overdose crisis. According to the DHCS description of NTPs on their website, “California’s NTPs provide opioid medication-assisted treatment to those addicted to opiates. NTPs also provide withdrawal management and/or maintenance treatment services which include medical evaluations and rehabilitative services to help the patient become and/or remain productive members of society.”

In addition to the NTP services, TTC offers a diverse array of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment service options in Long Beach and the County of Los Angeles. At this time, these services include:

1. Medical Inpatient Detoxification Treatment
2. Residential Withdrawal Management
3. Medications for Addiction Treatment
4. Residential SUD Treatment
5. Outpatient SUD Treatment
6. Outpatient Mental Health Treatment
7. Primary Medical Care Services
8. Case Management
9. Recovery Support Services

TTC MAT Services use a combination of FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder. Moreover, MAT Services are considered the gold standard of opioid use disorder treatment. Hence, these medications are endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the Surgeon General, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Medications for Addiction Treatment and the TTC NTP

The medications for treating OUD in the new Narcotic Treatment Program include:

1. Methadone
2. Suboxone

In addition, the following medications are available through the TTC MAT Services program:

1. Sublocade
2. Zubsolv
3. Vivitrol

Moreover, the FDA approves each drug. With the goal of relapse prevention, these medications minimize withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings for the drugs.

Thus, to learn more about the TTC Narcotic Treatment Program in Long Beach, please call (818) 996-1051 or contact HubSpokeLA@tarzanatc.org.