Ideal Option, a national leader in evidence-based outpatient medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for addiction to fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, alcohol and polysubstance, is welcoming new patients at 5400 Gibson Blvd SE, Suite 11.
The new low-barrier clinic is located inside the Gateway Center, a facility owned by the city of Albuquerque.
Formerly a hospital, the Gateway Center was acquired by the city in April 2021 and is now a 572,000-square-foot facility that hosts tenant organizations providing medical, behavioral health and social services.
The Gateway Network consists of services designed to meet the unique, individual needs of the city’s unhoused community. This includes Gateway West, the city’s largest shelter, which can serve up to 700 individuals. The Gateway Network also includes Gateway Recovery, a micro-community of Pallet Homes for those with substance-use disorder; Gateway Family, where families can get on the pathway to housing; and Gateway Young Adult, once opened, this service will provide pathways to housing.
“Our goal at the Gateway Center is to provide wraparound community services and support to individuals experiencing homelessness, all under one roof,” said Gilbert Ramirez, Health, Housing, and Homelessness director for the Gateway Center. “We welcome Ideal Option’s services, as substance use can impact anyone, and lowering barriers to care is a vital step in providing accessible and compassionate support for all individuals receiving care at the Gateway Center.”
According to the 2024 edition of the Opioid Guide, published by the New Mexico Department of Justice, an estimated 3.9 percent of the New Mexico population (approximately 82,840 people) currently suffers from opioid use disorders (OUD). In addition, more than 2,100 deaths were attributable to prescription opioids in New Mexico between 2017 and 2021.
“Low-barrier MAT really rounds out the services inside the Gateway Center,” said Katrina Fuller, peer outreach specialist for Albuquerque. “Being under the same roof as medical sobering, inpatient treatment, counseling, housing navigation, and a shelter is an incredibly rare opportunity. I can’t wait to see the positive impact this is going to have on the health of our city.”
The new clinic in the Gateway Center is Ideal Option’s third location in Albuquerque.
The Chamber has been a strong supporter of the Gateway Center. GACC President and CEO Terri Cole said, “We have long advocated for 24/7 sheltering that will draw people in need from Downtown and connect them to the services they need. We know there’s more to do – a lot more. But this is a welcome step in the right direction.”