Jan 27, 2025
It is my pleasure as the NAATP Director of Membership to wish you a happy new year on behalf of our association. I was honored to join the NAATP staff last year as Membership Director and I’m excited to get to work for all our members as we start the new year.
After a lengthy career in the field of SUD treatment and recovery, where I witnessed this work from nearly every angle, I came to NAATP because I believe in the work we do and the value we provide to our members and the field at large. In addition to the considerable membership offerings we provide, above all I know that the field needs a strong, unified, and principled voice and I know that NAATP is that voice. That is why I want to begin this year, as my first message to you, by sharing our CEO’s interview with Business in Focus Magazine that came out at the end of 2024. It is, I think, a fine example of how NAATP represents its membership.
Read Advancing Addiction Treatment in America
As I read our CEO Ventrell’s interview, I am struck by these messages:
We help addiction treatment providers operate successfully and sustainably. At the same time, we have a broader societal mission to improve addiction treatment practices and establish the place of addiction treatment in the American healthcare system.
The scope of addiction is wide, from alcohol to drugs. In the early days, alcoholism was the singular focus, but today the country faces a serious health care crisis involving drug addiction. Whatever the substance, NAATP treatment providers are equipped to treat it.
I have to stress that treatment works, and we need to do everything we can in this country, collectively and individually, to help people access treatment. 800 people die every day from drug or alcohol overdoses. It’s a healthcare crisis, a national emergency. The good news is, this is a treatable illness, and you can get well, there is hope for everyone.
We take our work at NAATP as more than service. We believe we have a duty and vital responsibility to our members. As we deliver our offerings and work to improve our services, we look forward to expanding and engaging with our members this year. Among our more recent products, please be sure to download the NAATP Addiction Treatment Quality Assurance Guidebook, 2nd Edition and keep an eye out for the data collection process that will allow us to publish the 2025 version of the highly valued NAATP Salary Survey provided free of charge to NAATP Members who participate in the data collection during this time of workforce realignment and challenges. Of course don’t forget to keep your member listing in the NAATP Addiction Industry Directory (AID), and our Affiliate Member vendor directory current as we make our members visible to the consumer. And finally, be sure to mark you calendars for our flagship event, the 46th Annual Addiction Treatment Leadership Conference this May in Seattle.
Finally, if you are seeing this message and you are not currently a NAATP Member, we encourage you to do some research and apply for membership consideration.
As a member of NAATP, you gain access to a network of leading providers, exclusive resources, advocacy opportunities, and the ability to be part of a community dedicated to transforming addiction treatment. And you are part of something bigger than yourself. It is together that we can strengthen the field of addiction treatment and create lasting change.
Zina Rodriguez
NAATP Director of Membership
[email protected] | 720.357.0897
