by LaMara HunterKelly | Sep 24, 2018 | In The News
[PICTURED] Organizers of last year’s Recovery Jam, run by The RECOVER Project, from left, lead organizer Amie Hyson, Trudy Willis, Pauline Gensen and director Mary Doherty. Staff file photo
Thursday, September 20, 2018
GREENFIELD — For the past 15 years, Recovery Jam, a sober music festival, shows people there is fun in recovery, and celebrates national recovery month in September. The jam is a family-oriented event featuring arts and crafts, activities, music and food.
The 15th annual Recovery Jam sober music festival will be on Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. at Camp Kee-wanee on 1 Health Camp Road in Greenfield. The event is overseen by the RECOVER Project, a peer recovery center in Greenfield.
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![BusinessWest’s & Healthcare News’ 2nd Annual Healthcare Heroes to be Honored Oct. 25]()
by LaMara HunterKelly | Sep 19, 2018 | In The News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPRINGFIELD — BusinessWest and Healthcare News magazines, the business and healthcare journals covering Western Massachusetts, will honor their 2nd Annual Healthcare Heroes this Thursday, Oct. 25 at the Starting Gate at GreatHorse in Hampden.
The Healthcare Heroes program was created to shed a bright light on the outstanding work being done across the broad spectrum of health and wellness services, and the institutions and individuals providing that care.
More than 80 nominations were submitted, and candidates were scored by an esteemed panel of three judges. The stories behind the seven heroes reveal large quantities of energy, imagination, innovation, compassion, entrepreneurship, forward thinking, and dedication to the community. Honorees are profiled in the Sept. 3 issue of BusinesssWest and the September issue of Healthcare News, and are also available on www.businesswest.com and www.healthcarenews.com.
This year’s honorees are:
- The Consortium and The Opioid Task Force: Collaboration in Healthcare
- Mary Paquette, MS, RN, FNP Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider
- TechSpring, The Baystate Health Technology Innovation Center: Innovation in Health/Wellness
- Matthew Sadof, MD Community Health
- Robert Fazzi Lifetime Achievement
- Celeste Surreira, DNP, MS, FNP-BC, CNL Health/Wellness Administrator
- Peter A. DePergola II, Ph.D., M.T.S. Emerging Leader
The Healthcare Heroes Gala on Oct. 25 will begin with a VIP reception at 4:30 p.m. with networking and opportunities to meet this year’s honorees. There will be entertainment, butlered hors d’oeuvres, a lavish plated dinner, and more networking opportunities. Healthcare Heroes is presented by American International College and Baystate Health/Health New England and sponsored by Bay Path University, Elms College MBA Program, National Grid, Renew.Calm, and Trinity Health of New England/Mercy Medical Center.
![BusinessWest’s & Healthcare News’ 2nd Annual Healthcare Heroes to be Honored Oct. 25]()
by LaMara HunterKelly | Sep 7, 2018 | In The News
Collaboration In Health/Wellness: The Consortium And The Opioid Task Force
By George O’Brien
September 3, 2018
This Unique Initiative Has a Simple Mission: to Save Lives
Larry Thomas remembers not knowing exactly what to say or how to respond.
He had just been encouraged to apply for a job as a peer coordinator and recovery coach for something called the Recover Project, a recovery support center operating in downtown Greenfield under the umbrella of the Western Mass. Training Consortium and funded by the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services in Massachusetts. Thomas paused, because the last job he held was as part of a work-release program operated by the Department of Corrections.
“I had never had a job as a free man, applying on my own,” he explained. “When they posted the job, people said I should apply. I said, ‘maybe I should, but I don’t even have a résumé.’ I did apply, but I was scared to put down the last place I worked, because I was still in jail.’”
Thomas, in applying and then earning the job, essentially put his past behind him and focused on solidifying his future, which is, by and large, what he encourages others to do as a recovery coach. He takes his ‘lived experience’ — that’s a phrase you’ll read often in this article — and puts it to work helping others combating addiction and trying to put their lives back together.
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