Medical detox for West Palm Beach — supervised, then straight into treatment.

For West Palm Beach residents in El Cid, Flamingo Park, Northwood Hills, SoSo, or downtown WPB, RECO is the closest program offering medically supervised detox tied directly to a continuing residential and PHP arc — 18 miles south, about 28 minutes via I-95 or Federal Highway. The detox handoff goes to the same clinical team that will manage treatment afterward, which closes the 48-hour gap where most relapses happen. MAT options including buprenorphine, naltrexone, acamprosate, and Vivitrol are coordinated by RECO psychiatry before discharge from detox.

For families living between Okeechobee Boulevard and the Lake Worth Lagoon, the nearest specialist-level addiction program with an in-house detox pathway is not in West Palm Beach itself — it is 18 miles south, at RECO Intensive in Delray Beach. The drive takes about 28 minutes outside rush hour along I-95 or Federal Highway, which matters more than it sounds: when someone has finally agreed to get help, the window for action is narrow, and a half-hour transport is the difference between a same-day admission and a missed opportunity. Whether you live in El Cid, Flamingo Park, Northwood Hills, SoSo, or downtown WPB, RECO is the closest program offering medically supervised detox followed by a single, continuous arc of care through residential, PHP, and IOP — all under one clinical team.

The most important thing to know about detox is that it is not the treatment. It is the medical stabilization that makes treatment possible. RECO’s detox partner facilities provide 24/7 physician oversight during the acute withdrawal window, and admission flows directly into RECO’s residential or partial hospitalization program the moment a client is medically cleared. There is no organizational handoff, no second intake interview, no insurance limbo while a different provider reviews the chart.

When medical detox is the right starting point

Detox is medically indicated when the withdrawal trajectory poses real physiological risk — most often with alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opioids. Alcohol withdrawal can progress from tremor and elevated heart rate to seizures and delirium tremens within 48 to 72 hours of the last drink, and the mortality risk for untreated severe withdrawal is non-trivial. Benzodiazepine withdrawal carries the same seizure risk and frequently requires a slower, more deliberate taper than alcohol. Opioid withdrawal is rarely fatal in otherwise healthy adults but is intensely physically painful and is the single largest driver of same-day relapse.

Stimulant withdrawal — cocaine, methamphetamine — is a different clinical picture. It is generally not medically dangerous, but the crash, dysphoria, and anhedonia of early stimulant abstinence are profound enough that an unsupervised attempt frequently fails within 72 hours. A supervised setting still matters here, even if the medical intensity is lower. RECO’s clinical intake uses the ASAM criteria — all six dimensions, not just the substance — to determine whether someone needs medical detox, residential stabilization, or can step directly into PHP. The decision is not made by a phone screener; it is made by a clinician.

What 24/7 medical supervision actually looks like

Medical detox is a procedure, not a willpower exercise. Inside the partner facility, what happens looks like this: vital signs are checked on a defined interval — every two to four hours during the acute window, longer once stable. Withdrawal severity is scored using validated instruments. For alcohol, that is the CIWA-Ar scale, which tracks ten symptoms including tremor, sweating, anxiety, and orientation. For opioids, it is the COWS scale, which captures GI distress, pupil dilation, gooseflesh, and restlessness. The scores drive medication decisions in real time.

Medications used during detox are not sedatives handed out generically. They are matched to substance and physiology — benzodiazepines (often lorazepam or chlordiazepoxide) for alcohol withdrawal on a symptom-triggered or fixed-dose protocol, buprenorphine or methadone for opioid withdrawal, anticonvulsants when seizure history warrants. Nursing and on-call physician coverage means complications — a sudden BP spike, a CIWA score climbing into the 20s — get a clinical response within minutes, not the next morning. This is the floor of safe care, and it is the reason home detox attempts so often end in either an ER visit or a return to use.

Direct continuity into residential or PHP

The handoff from detox into the next level of care is where most treatment journeys break. A client finishes detox at one facility, is told to call another program, has to navigate a new intake, a new insurance authorization, and frequently a waiting list. The motivation gap between detox discharge and next-step admission is when people relapse — usually within 48 hours.

At RECO, that gap is closed structurally. The same clinical team — therapists, psychiatry, case management — that will work with you in residential or PHP receives the detox handoff directly. Treatment plans are not rebuilt from scratch; they are continued. If the detox team identified co-occurring depression, started a non-addictive medication, or flagged a trauma history, that information arrives with the client. Same-day step-down from detox into RECO’s residential level is the standard pathway for clients coming through this program, not an exception.

Medication-assisted induction during detox

For opioid use disorder, the strongest evidence for sustained recovery involves medication-assisted treatment, and the detox window is the ideal moment to begin. Buprenorphine induction during the acute withdrawal phase eases symptoms immediately and provides a pharmacological floor against the cravings that dominate weeks two through six. RECO’s psychiatry team coordinates with the detox partner so that MAT — buprenorphine, or extended-release naltrexone (Vivitrol) where clinically appropriate — is initiated during detox and continues without interruption into residential and PHP.

For alcohol use disorder, the medication conversation is different but equally important. Naltrexone reduces the reward signal from drinking and is appropriate for most clients without active liver disease. Acamprosate helps stabilize the glutamate/GABA imbalance that drives protracted alcohol withdrawal and persistent cravings. Neither is addictive. Both are underused, and both are part of the conversation RECO clinicians have with every alcohol-use-disorder client before discharge from detox. For a deeper look at the full alcohol pathway, see our alcohol addiction treatment overview; for opioid-specific detail, see heroin and opioid addiction treatment.

How West Palm Beach families typically start, and what insurance covers

Most clients arriving from West Palm Beach start with a phone call that takes about twenty minutes. Intake asks about substance and quantity, last use, withdrawal history, prior treatment, medical conditions, and current medications. The clinical team determines whether detox is medically indicated, and if so, a bed is identified at a partner facility — often with same-day or next-day admission. Transport from WPB neighborhoods like El Cid or Northwood Hills is typically arranged directly.

RECO is in-network with most major commercial carriers — Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, and Florida Blue among them. Insurance verification is done before admission so families know what is covered before treatment begins, not after. After detox and the residential/PHP arc, continuing care through intensive outpatient, sober living, and alumni aftercare is built into the same plan — so the question of “what happens after detox” is answered before detox starts.

Serving residents of: El Cid, Flamingo Park, Northwood Hills, SoSo, Downtown WPB.