Grayken Center for Patients with Substance Use Disorder Begins

Author

Tim Quigley

Tim Quigley, RN, SVP of Acute Care Operations & Chief Nursing Officer

Earlier this year, South Shore Health received a $10 million gift from John Grayken and Eilene Davidson Grayken, which established the Grayken Center for Treatment at South Shore Health. We are thrilled to announce that we are fulfilling the vision made possible by this generous gift. Next month, South Shore Health will implement an interdependent, clinical behavioral health initiative for patients suffering from substance use disorder (SUD).

A dedicated group of interdisciplinary colleagues from South Shore Health, Aspire Health Alliance, and the Addiction Medicine program at Boston Medical Center (BMC) have worked tirelessly to create this highly accessible and contemporary program.

In addition to the work already being done by South Shore Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) Recovery Coaches to enroll patients into treatment, we are introducing four new primary elements to our behavioral health initiative:

Addictions Medicine Division

Medicated-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the use of FDA-approved medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a “whole-patient” approach to the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). We will eventually offer a consult service in MAT to all South Shore Health providers as they care for patients with SUD in the ED, Obstetrics, Primary Care and inpatient settings. It will be led by led by Todd Kerensky, MD, a hospitalist who is fellowship-trained in this new and much-needed specialty.

Bridge Clinic

The newly-established Bridge Clinic will allow patients with SUD to access one to six weeks of MAT, in conjunction with expert individual and group therapy to patients by Aspire Health Alliance, our behavioral health care partner. The Bridge Clinic will initially be located in South Shore Hospital, but will move across the street to 797 Main Street in Weymouth in 2020. The Bridge Clinic will serve patients referred from all settings and providers, both within and outside of South Shore Health. We expect to open the clinic in October 2019.

The Bridge Clinic staff will work with a wide variety of community partners to best match the clinical, access and insurance needs of individual patients. These community partners include Manet Community Health Center, Spectrum Health, Gosnold, Bay State Community Services, CleanSlate, High Point and many others.

Expansion of the Perinatal Behavioral Health Program

Led by Julie Paul, DNP, CNM, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C, FACNM, this program will offer individual and group care to pregnant and postpartum women with SUD, for up to two years after giving birth. Assistance will then be provided to help transition the family back into their community for continued support. 

Assistance in the Primary Care Setting

South Shore Medical Center (SSMC) is adding dedicated infrastructure to better serve their existing patients with SUD. Starting this October, initial MAT at SSMC will be directed at patients suffering from alcohol use disorder. This program will be available to new and existing patients who are 18 years of age or older who have a primary care provider in the Internal Medicine or Family Medicine departments at our locations in Norwell, Kingston, Braintree, and soon in Quincy. (Learn more about becoming a patient.) 

South Shore Health knows there is no health without mental health. We look forward to meeting the needs of so many South Shore residents and their loved ones who suffer from SUD, and are grateful to the Graykens for their support of this work.

David Halle, MD, Medical Director of Ambulatory Care Division at South Shore Health, also contributed to this post.
 

Learn more about the Grayken Center for Treatment at South Shore Health.

Author

Tim Quigley

Tim Quigley, RN, SVP of Acute Care Operations & Chief Nursing Officer