News

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

International Overdose Awareness Day occurs every year on August 31st, serving as a stark reminder of the devastation of the opioid crisis. In the past few years, overdose deaths have increased dramatically. In the United States, more than 100,000 people die as the result of an overdose each year. That’s more than double the number ...

With Pride Month in full swing, Spectrum Health Systems honors the LGBTQ+ community and acknowledges the difficulties encountered by its members. The disadvantages, discrimination, and other challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community create an increased risk of behavioral health issues such as substance use disorder, self-harm, depression, and anxiety. The National Institute of Health (NIH) ...

Since Spectrum Health Systems was founded in 1969—known then as Challenge House—we have been intently focused on offering the highest quality services to individuals seeking treatment for substance use and mental health disorders. Spectrum’s goal is to assist its clients in establishing and sustaining recovery, giving them the tools needed to lead healthy, productive, and ...

In recent years, fentanyl has become the predominant adversary in the opioid epidemic. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues can be deadly in very small doses because of their powerful effects. The chemical composition of fentanyl also makes it much easier to traffic than other drugs, allowing it to saturate the illicit drug market across the country. ...

Addressing health equity is crucial to the advancement of health services. No person should ever face higher health risks because of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other attribute of their identity. Yet, disparities like these have long been observed in the health outcomes of minority groups, including rates of substance use disorder ...

Having started as a clinician in 2000, Kristin Nolan has deep roots with Spectrum Health Systems. Early on, she found the clinical work rewarding, but over time she began to feel like she could have a broader impact in the addiction treatment field by focusing her efforts on the operations side of things. Now serving ...