Substance disorder treatment

The fentanyl crisis is front-page news and for good reason. In calendar year 2023, the DEA seized more than 77 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. This amounts to more than 386 million deadly doses of fentanyl — enough to kill every single person in America. The fentanyl we see today is even deadlier than before and our young people, because of their age and brain development, are at extremely high risk for becoming victims of fentanyl overdose.

At Northwest Pediatric Center, we screen for problem substance use at every well-child checkup, but we also recognize that some patients may not feel comfortable — or are distrustful of — bringing up the topic of drug use to their primary care provider.

Our clinic’s approach is one of harm reduction, which means we accept, for better or worse, that licit and illicit drug use is part of our world. We work to minimize its harmful effects instead of ignoring or condemning people who use drugs.

Substance use is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors from daily or social use to occasional dabbling or total abstinence. We establish that quality of individual life and well-being — not necessarily the cessation of all drug use — is the criteria for successful intervention.

NWPC provides non-judgmental, non-coercive services and resources to people who use drugs, assisting them in reducing attendant harms. Our patients themselves are the primary agents of reducing the harms of their drug use and we seek to empower them to do so while not minimizing or ignoring the real and tragic harm that can be associated with illicit drug use.

We have several medical providers who are comfortable diagnosing and treating patients with opioid-use disorder using transmucosal buprenorphine and long-acting injectable buprenorphine. In addition, we have a substance use disorder professional (SUDP) on staff to help our patients navigate recovery.

If your child wants help getting freed from opioid addiction, we’re ready to help.