Gloucester Police Department Press Release — Republished

For Immediate Release

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Contact: Brendan Melican (Spectrum)
Phone: 508.792.5400 ext. 7113
Email: Brendan.Melican@spectrumhealthsystems.org

Gloucester Police Department Partners with Spectrum Health Systems for Drug Recovery Initiative

Four Patients Came into Police Station in First 48 Hours — All Are Now in Treatment

Spectrum Takes in Two of the Four Patients 

GLOUCESTER — Police Chief Leonard Campanello is pleased to announce that Spectrum Health Systems Inc. of Worcester has signed on as a partner of the Gloucester Police Department Volunteer ANGEL Initiative. Within the first two days of the Initiative’s launch, four patients have come in for treatment, two of whom were admitted to Spectrum facilities.

“We are honored and excited to have Spectrum commit their bevy of services to the Gloucester Initiative,” Chief Campanello said. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Spectrum and helping more and more victims of drug addiction along the way.”

The Gloucester Initiative is a revolutionary shift in a municipal policing policy aimed at ushering heroin and opiate addicts into recovery rather than jail cells and courtrooms.

The policy went into effect on Monday, June 1. Click here to view the official police policy document.

“Spectrum is proud to partner with Chief Campanello and the Gloucester Police Department in this initiative,” said Spectrum President and CEO Chuck Faris.  “The scale of the opioid epidemic demands new approaches to reaching individuals in need of recovery. Chief Campanello’s willingness to rethink the role of public safety in terms of access is a step forward in removing barriers to treatment.”

Spectrum’s treatment campus, situated on a 25-acre parkland site in Westborough, Massachusetts, serves as the company’s flagship. With 240 residential treatment beds at three levels of care, it is the largest substance abuse treatment facility in New England. Spectrum maintains an additional 60 residential treatment beds in Weymouth.  Spectrum also provides a comprehensive array of ambulatory services, including medication-assisted treatment, at outpatient treatment centers located across the state. Spectrum’s full range of services offers individuals with mental health and substance abuse disorders the opportunity to transition to less intensive treatment modalities as their recovery progresses.

The two additional Gloucester patients were admitted to other partner facilities.

ABOUT THE GLOUCESTER INITIATIVE:
Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello proposed a new drug policy on May 5. The Gloucester Initiative gives drug addicts immediate help with detox and recovery without the threat and stigma of arrest. It also seeks to put nasal naloxone in the hands of as many addicts, families, and caregivers as possible to prevent overdose death. Additionally, the plan calls for a portion of federal criminal seizure money to be earmarked for addiction recovery efforts.

The initiative began with a citywide forum and a Facebook post by the Chief, which has now reached nearly 2.2 million people. Click here for more information on the post,

ABOUT SPECTRUM HEALTH SERVICES INC.
Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, Spectrum Health Systems, Inc. is a private, nonprofit substance abuse treatment and mental health service organization.  In addition to Massachusetts, the company currently operates more than 130 programs throughout Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington State – serving nearly 50,000 adults and at-risk youth each year.

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