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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
How Spectrum’s Mobile Treatment Unit is Bringing Change Directly to Communities
Spectrum Health Systems’ pioneering mobile treatment unit has made promising strides since it began service in February. Seven days a week, this innovative vehicle delivers addiction treatment medication and other clinical resources to the Central Massachusetts residents that need them most. Years ago, the concept of using a vehicle to ...
Observing International Overdose Awareness Day
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 ...
Why Exercise Matters to Addiction Recovery
Fitness and exercise might not be the first things that come to mind when considering the most important aspects of recovery. But the impact that physical fitness and exercise can have on people recovering from addiction is substantial. Exercise can be a strong resource for relapse prevention, and there are ...
The Growing Momentum of College Recovery Groups
The “college experience” has long been associated with drinking and substance use. Young people, many leaving home for their first time, are thrust into new social and academic situations when they start college. Alcohol and substances find use among students looking for friendship and social belonging while seeking a reprieve ...
Unmet Addiction Treatment Needs Persist in Correctional Facilities
In 2018, Congress passed the First Step Act, which, among other things, required the Bureau of Prisons to expand the availability of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Medications like Suboxone, which provide the two-fold benefit of preventing opioid cravings and blocking opioid receptors, have been strongly shown to reduce ...
Pride Month: Honoring and Celebrating the LGBTQ+ Community
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 ...
Recognizing the Members of Spectrum’s 2023 President’s Club
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 ...
Spreading Crucial Awareness About the Dangers of Fentanyl
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 ...
Observing National Minority Health Month
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 ...
Alcoholism Awareness Month: The Prevalent Dangers of Alcohol Misuse
Though alcohol consumption is considered more socially acceptable than the use of narcotics like cocaine or heroin, drinking is far from harmless. Alcohol can pose detrimental health and safety risks. According to the CDC, excessive drinking is the cause for more than 140,000 deaths each year in the United States. ...
Get to Know Kristin Nolan, Chief Behavioral Health Officer
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 ...
