Detox Facility Will Be A Benefit To Bayville Community, Director Says

BAYVILLE, NJ — Will a proposed residential behavioral health facility/detox center bring criminals to a family neighborhood in Bayville? Probably not, according to officials with Quantum Behavioral Health.

The proposed facility will be heard at the Dec. 14 Zoning Board meeting. Sitting off Atlantic City Boulevard on Allard Road, the planned detox center would offer inpatient care to those struggling with addiction. Read More: Proposed Detox Center To Go Before Berkeley Zoning Board

Some in the community have voiced concerns about the facility bringing criminals to the area.

Before patients can even get to the door, they have to go through a prescreen process over the phone, Quantum COO Justin Sabatino told Patch.

Sabatino, who has worked in the treatment industry for a decade and has been on his own recovery journey as well, said that the prescreening process asks potential patients about their legal history, occupation, demographics and more. Criteria has to be met before a patient can come in.

This, plus the fact that Quantum is a private facility taking commercial insurance, the likelihood of them taking in violent criminals is slim, Sabatino said.

According to the most recent state data on substance abuse, there were 8,396 Ocean County residents admitted for substance abuse treatment in 2019. Most used heroin as their primary drug, with the next-highest being alcohol, according to the data.

Thirty-five percent of those were employed full- or part-time, and 41 percent had no legal issues, according to the data.

Quantum currently operates an outpatient facility in South Toms River, which has been open for about 18 months, Sabatino said. The Bayville location would be a companion to that site; offering inpatient treatment.

Currently, all clients in outpatient have to detox somewhere farther away from the South Toms River facility, Director of Substance Abuse Brenda dos Santos told Patch.

With the addition of the Bayville facility, they can instead detox locally and then head five miles down to road to South Toms River in one of Quantum's sober living houses, dos Santos said.

"We're just here to help the local community," Sabatino said. He added that there is a bad stigma around addiction, coupled with the "not in my backyard" types, but assured residents that they are there to help.

The help comes not only in the form of the treatment services offered, but in bringing jobs and revenue to the town as well, Sabatino said.

Dos Santos, an Ocean County local, said that prevention is key.

"We'd rather prevent than do damage control," she said.