National City, California Opens $29M Medical Detox Center

San Diego County’s shortage of supervised withdrawal capacity is about to improve. Officials unveiled a new $29 million Substance Use Residential and Treatment Services center in National City on September 14.

The facility represents the first in the county to integrate substance use treatment with recuperative care under one roof. Officials anticipate an opening in October.

What the New Center Offers

The facility will operate 73 residential treatment beds with 24 hour care. It will also provide 16 recuperative care beds.

Recuperative beds give people recuperating from illness or injury a temporary place to heal when they lack stable housing. Patients can receive both residential treatment and recuperative care when their circumstances require both.

Services encompass withdrawal management as well as care coordination. The center stands adjacent to Paradise Valley Hospital which will refer patients directly to the facility.

The center should serve roughly 670 people each year. New Creation Behavioral Healthcare Foundation will administer the facility under a $31 million county contract. The contract encompasses substance use recovery services for adults experiencing housing instability.

Funding ultimately derives from a $6.4 billion state grant for behavioral health services.

Why Medical Detox Comes First

Every residential bed in this building depends on safe withdrawal management at the outset. People who arrive after active substance use may require medical detox.

That care encompasses clinical monitoring, medications that alleviate withdrawal symptoms and staff who can respond to complications.

Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can trigger seizures and can become life threatening without medical supervision.

Opioid withdrawal rarely proves fatal by itself. Yet the symptoms can become sufficiently severe that people abandon withdrawal without support. Relapse after even a brief period of abstinence can also substantially heighten overdose risk in patients.

A facility that integrates withdrawal management with residential care closes one of the most prevalent gaps in the treatment process. Patients can transition from detox into ongoing care without an unnecessary interruption between the two.

Why National City

City leaders noted that National City has the highest rate of substance use hospitalizations in the South County region. That makes the location particularly pertinent for a center with recuperative beds.

Hospitalization without a secure next step can create a revolving door. Recuperative care can disrupt that cycle by giving patients somewhere to convalesce with support instead of sending them back to the street. The buildings themselves have a noteworthy history.

The county acquired them in 2022 from Volunteers of America after an audit uncovered misuse of county funds. The organization relinquished the properties along with the 120 bed program it had operated. Renovation began in 2025.

Finding Medical Detox in San Diego

If you or someone you love needs to stop using opioids or other drugs, do not attempt to endure withdrawal alone.

Detox.com lists accredited detox centers and medical detox programs in San Diego and across the state of California.

Search detox facilities to compare levels of care, verify insurance and identify a program that can begin treatment soon. Call 800-996-6135Sponsored to find medically supervised detox near you.