Background
David Niknafs founded the RECO network in 2013, and RECO Island is the medical detox facility he envisioned for people at the very start of recovery. His path into addiction treatment was personal — he had walked through the system himself, and he had seen where it failed.
For RECO Island specifically, that meant asking: what should medical detox look like for someone whose first moment of clarity in years is just beginning? David's answer was a facility built around safety, dignity, and an immediate handoff into the right next phase of care. RECO Island isn't a transactional detox; it's the entry point into a continuum that David designed to actually work.
Approach to Care
David's working principle at RECO Island is that the first 7-10 days of recovery are sacred — and most of the field treats them as a clinical formality. He has built RECO Island around the opposite assumption: detox is the most pivotal moment in a person's recovery, and how it is handled determines whether the next 12 months happen.
That's why RECO Island invests in 24/7 medical staffing, why its admissions team is empowered to take the call at 2am, and why its discharge planning starts on day one. David's leadership at the network level ensures that what begins at RECO Island connects seamlessly into residential, outpatient, and ongoing recovery support.
Education & Credentials
David holds the CNDAI (Certified National Drug & Alcohol Interventionist) and NCIP (Nationally Certified Intervention Professional) certifications. Combined with his personal recovery journey and the operational track record of building a behavioral health network, those credentials anchor his role as the founder and chief executive.
What to Expect
RECO Island clients typically don't meet David personally during their stay — but they experience his work at every turn. The reason the medical detox staff are excellent. The reason admissions answer the phone within minutes. The reason there's a clear, supported path from detox into the next phase.
David's bar for RECO Island is that nobody should have to survive their detox alone, and nobody should be discharged into a void. If you meet him at an alumni gathering down the line, you'll find someone whose authority comes from having walked the same first steps.
