Drug treatment is boosted by San Diego County

Photo by Ebone Monet

Above: San Diego Skyline May 15, 2018.

Bryan Sharp is Vice President of Admissions at Pacific Bay Recovery, an addiction and alcohol treatment center in San Diego. He is often the first person to come into contact with new patients.

"They are in a very vulnerable state, they are depressed, they are afraid, they are sad, they are going through this mixed emotion," he said.

Pacific Bay treats about 300 people a year for addiction. Seventy percent of these patients are opioid dependent.

Now, San Diego County provides more resources to combat the opioid epidemic that is rife in the country.

The county implements the organized Drug Medi-Cal delivery system. This means more Federal Medicaid funding to improve substance abuse treatment services. Spending in this area will increase from $ 54.6 million to $ 179.6 million over the next three years.

State figures indicate that 1,882 people died of opioid overdoses in 2017, including 272 in San Diego County.

Last year, more than 11,300 people received treatment for addictions at centers funded by the county. The new system will increase the number of people served by 30%.

Currently, county-funded opioid treatment programs report an average waiting time of 14 days for institutional treatment programs. The standard under the organized Drug Medi-Cal distribution system is 24 hours.

"Currently, we have between 40% and 45% of people who finish their treatment, but we have to be better than that. We must be able to show that they are actually achieving good results in terms of life, in terms of staying sober in the long run, "said Alfredo Aguirre, director of Behavioral Health Services for San Diego County.

Aguirre The combination of prescription drug abuse and the use of heroin fuels the opioid crisis.

Sharp hopes the county's new approach to treatment addiction will help release more addicts He has fought an opioid addiction himself

"I became so addicted and addicted to these drugs that there was not enough there they could give me, "he said.

Sharp describes his sobriety as a second chance in life

" Even my worst day does not compare or get closer not even my best days, "he said.

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