A Need for Treatment in Cheshire

March 22, 2016 By Hartford HealthCare

Rushford unveiled its new outpatient addiction treatment center in Cheshire at a press conference Tuesday, March 22, 2016, meant to call attention to the need for substance abuse services in the community.

With the rate of overdoses related to heroin and opioid painkillers continuing to rise in Connecticut and the nation, Rushford officials said they are working to bring evidence-based care to those suffering from addiction in Cheshire as well as communities across the state.

The new treatment center, located in a suite of exam and group therapy rooms at 680 S. Main St., opened three weeks ago, offering services including Medication Assisted Treatment, a model of care that helps people recover from addiction through a combination of medication and group therapy and counseling.

Within the Behavioral Health Network, the program is known as MATCH, or Medication Assisted Treatment Close to Home. Other services at the new center include programs for relapse prevention, intensive outpatient services, individualized therapy, ambulatory detox and family education.

Shown above at the press event Tuesday is Patricia Rehmer, left, President of the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network, and J. Craig Allen, MD, right, Medical Director at Rushford.

Rehmer said the goal behind the location in Cheshire, and the six other MATCH treatment centers within the Behavioral Health Network, is to make it easy and convenient for those who are struggling with addiction to seek out care, and stay on a path of recovery. “Cheshire has been very welcoming,” she said.

Also speaking at the event was Michael Mitchell, a Cheshire resident and former Rushford client who is in recovery for addiction to heroin and other substances. Mitchell, who has been in recovery for close to two years, said the new Rushford location will go far in helping those struggling with addiction in Cheshire get the help they need. “They changed my life and turned my life around,” said Mitchell, who was joined at the event with his mother, Barbara, whose husband died after a prolonged battle with addiction issues. “He got the disease from his father,” she said. “But I’m so proud of how he has turned himself around.”

Learn more about MATCH