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, ...
Get to Know Lisa Blanchard, Chief Clinical Officer
With a background in both the clinical and administrative sides of behavioral health care, Lisa Blanchard knows that making treatment accessible is key to affecting positive change amid the addiction epidemic. It’s a philosophy that she embodies in her role as Chief Clinical Officer at Spectrum Health Systems, where she works to design programming and ...
Spectrum Health Systems Appoints Alicia Hashey and Athena Haddon to Key Leadership Roles
Spectrum Health Systems, Inc., a not-for-profit organization providing a comprehensive continuum of addiction treatment throughout Massachusetts, announced two new hires today, continuing the growth of its leadership team. Athena Haddon re-joins the team as Executive Director of Peer Services and Recovery Support, and Alicia Hashey comes on board as Controller for the accounting department. “I’m ...
Jeannie Saunders Reflects on Leaving—and Coming Back—to Spectrum
Coming from a billing background in the healthcare industry, Jeannie Saunders first joined Spectrum Health Systems in 2016. She had been unsatisfied with her previous position and a friend that worked at Spectrum had encouraged her to apply. Jeannie followed the recommendation, and the next thing she knew, she was starting at Spectrum as a ...
Get to Know Jonathan Miller, Chief Information Officer
For the last two decades, Jonathan Miller has worked to develop IT systems for nonprofits in the healthcare space. Now serving as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Spectrum Health Systems, Jonathan’s critical role has been to oversee the management and execution of the organization's information technology strategy. Before joining the Spectrum team, Jonathan worked for ...
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, ...
Employee Spotlight: Meet Karen Hewitt, Regional Program Director for Spectrum’s Millbury and Milford Outpatient Treatment Centers
We’re excited to shine the spotlight on another one of our outstanding employees: Karen Hewitt! Karen is the Regional Program Director for Spectrum’s Millbury and Milford Outpatient Treatment Centers, where she is responsible for the clinical, financial and environmental operations of both programs as well as overseeing the outpatient intake departments. Karen wears a variety ...
Client Story: From Addiction to Recovery to Mentorship
Over 21 million Americans struggle with addiction, but only ten percent of them seek help. Despite drug and alcohol addiction costing the U.S. economy over $600 billion each year, there are many barriers to treatment including transportation issues, work and family responsibilities, lack of insurance, and more. The most significant, however, is the limited number ...
A Family Disease | 3 Tips for Loved Ones of People Struggling with Addiction
The impact of addiction spreads far beyond the person struggling with it. Too often, those closest to the person suffering are also going through their own struggle as a result, which is why we call addiction a family disease. If you have a loved one currently in early recovery or active addiction, you may be ...
Introducing Spectrum’s Magnolia FAST© Virtual Family Support Meeting Series
A strong support system can make a huge difference in a person’s addiction recovery journey – but where are the people who typically provide that support receiving the help that they need? Having a relationship with someone who struggles with substance use disorder (SUD) is often an emotional burden itself and can feel extremely isolating. ...
Analyzing the Link Between Substance Use and Trauma Among Adolescents and Young Adults
Trauma and its connection with substance use disorder (SUD) is an important aspect to consider in the treatment of addiction. Understanding Trauma Our recent Airing Addiction podcast explored this topic in depth when hosts Cathy Collins and Lisa Blanchard sat down with Zlatina Kostova, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist who specializes in psychological research and treatment ...
Employee Spotlight: Meet Our Substance Use Disorder Program Director, Cinderella Stiltner
At Spectrum Health Systems, our dedicated staff members genuinely care about our clients. We had the pleasure of speaking with one of our Program Directors, Cinderella Stiltner, about her role overseeing the Substance Use Disorder program at the Appalachian Community Corrections Alternative Program (ACCAP) in Honaker, VA, and what she finds to be the most ...
