Inside the pediatric unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, staff are not just treating broken bones and asthma attacks. They are running a hospital-based program that stabilizes teens and young adults with opioid addiction, pairing medication with counseling and follow-up care. The model has been credited with helping local patients get sober and plug into longer-term treatment, including a 21-year-old San Jose woman who says she unknowingly became addicted to fentanyl-laced pills as a teenager.
How the youth program works
The service is voluntary and admits people 20 and younger to Valley Med’s pediatric wing for a short inpatient stay to manage withdrawal and begin medication-assisted treatment. Patients are typically started on sublingual…..