A Letter from Our President: Kurt Isaacson Reflects on 2023
2023 was a year of remarkable progress and achievements at Spectrum Health Systems. We took numerous strides toward our goal of making treatment more accessible for the most vulnerable populations while continuing to look for ways to retain and recruit staff that make it all possible. One of Spectrum’s proudest achievements came in February when ...
Twelve-Step and Non-Twelve-Step Meetings: Which is Right for You?
Twelve-step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are some of the most popular formats of addiction recovery meetings. These programs are based on a broad concept of spirituality and encourage members to work through a series of steps to solidify their recovery. While many people have found long-term recovery through twelve-step programs, ...
Congratulations to Athena Haddon on her Salute to Excellence Award
An incredible amount of effort is needed in our mission to provide a comprehensive continuum of addiction treatment and recovery supports. That’s why Spectrum Health Systems is proud to employ individuals that are skilled, qualified—and most importantly—passionate about recovery. One employee that embodies these characteristics every day is Athena Haddon. Athena has worked at Spectrum ...
Spectrum’s Ondrea Hilts on Helping People Find Recovery
Before she began working with Spectrum Health Systems, Ondrea Hilts was in college, pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in justice studies. She knew she wanted to help people but hadn’t decided on a specific career path. Soon, though, a family tragedy would shape her plans for the future when she lost her ...
Making a Difference with Stefania Cunningham, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Stefania Cunningham’s tenure at Spectrum began 10 years ago. Originally joining as a per diem nurse, she now works as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner based out of Spectrum’s Weymouth location, providing psychiatric services to clients throughout Massachusetts. In her time with Spectrum, she’s seen many changes and developments, both in the organization and in the ...
Breaking the Addiction Stigma
While cultural awareness around substance and alcohol use disorder have improved in recent years, there is still a substantial amount of stigma surrounding these topics. Despite well-established research identifying addiction as a disease, some still see it as a moral failing instead. The negative attitudes and stereotypes that stem from this belief create barriers to ...
Observing Youth Substance Use Prevention Month
When young people are growing and developing, it's crucial that they understand the risks life can present to them. Not only are they having formative experiences that could impact them well into their adulthood, but their brains are also still in critical phases of development, making them vulnerable to the risks they take and the ...
Celebrating Graduates and Alumni
At Spectrum and NERC, nothing is more important to us than the success of our clients. The people that pass through our programs and go on to find health and happiness are living proof that recovery is possible. The example they set is crucial to the recovery community, supporting and inspiring others along their own ...
National Recovery Month: The Impact of Peer Recovery Centers
Peer recovery centers are crucial to the recovery community, serving as safe meeting places where people in all walks of recovery can both give and receive support. At these free centers, individuals participate in recovery meetings, find parenting and employment resources, learn helpful skills like anger management and financial planning, attend yoga and mindfulness classes, ...
National Recovery Month: Spectrum’s Voices of Recovery
A hallmark of substance use disorder and treatment is that there is no one recovery journey—everyone experiences different roadblocks and successes on different timelines, and almost always requires a unique combination of support services along the way. For National Recovery Month, we spoke with several of our clients and staff members in recovery themselves to ...
