Spectrum Health Systems’ Airing Addiction Podcast on Substance Abuse and Recovery Debuts on iTunes and SoundCloud

Access First Episode on Medication-Assisted-Treatment Featuring
Jeffery Baxter, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for Spectrum Today

WORCESTER, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Spectrum
Health Systems, a longtime nonprofit organization dedicated to
providing a comprehensive continuum of evidenced-based treatment to help
people overcome substance and opioid addiction, will launch Airing
Addiction, a weekly educational and inspirational podcast on
addiction and recovery, internationally on iTunes
and SoundCloud
today.

Hosted by Donna Pellegrino, vice president of business development at
Spectrum, the show features stories of personal challenges and triumphs
as well as expert opinion on important and controversial topics in the
addiction and recovery community. Listeners around the world will now be
able to access the New England-based Airing Addiction show by
subscribing on iTunes and/or SoundCloud. The program is recorded and
produced by Worcester-based station WTAG.

“Alcohol and drug addiction affects millions of people not only in the
U.S., but abroad as well. Access to education, increased awareness,
expert advice from those helping to treat the disease, and testimonials
of hope can be an important first step in the right direction and an
ongoing resource for many individuals and family members facing this
disease,” said Kurt Isaacson, CEO of Spectrum Health Systems.

The inaugural episode, featuring Jeffery Baxter, M.D., chief medical
officer (CMO) for Spectrum, discusses an opioid treatment method called
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) which includes the use of medication
along with counseling and other support. Spectrum’s inpatient and
outpatient clinical centers offer a wide range of available and
effective treatment options, from group counseling, educational guidance
to medication-assisted treatment options. Spectrum helps all their
clients by meeting them where they are at and helping them find a
treatment option that is effective for them. On today’s episode, Dr.
Baxter discusses the causes of addiction and helps to demystify some of
the misconceptions around the most common medication-assisted treatment
option called methadone by explaining how it works, why it’s effective,
and the steps to getting on a MAT program.

“Though methadone has been around more than 60 years, there’s still a
lot of people who don’t understand how it works and are biased against
its use,” said Dr. Baxter. “When somebody uses an opiate drug every day,
such as heroin, their body gets used to it. When you take it away, their
body gets very sick. This drives them back to using the drug over and
over again. Methadone interrupts that. It stabilizes the sickness and
allows people to go to work, go to school, take care of their families,
come to treatment and participate in their lives soberly without having
to worry about getting sick.”

“Spectrum Health Systems is committed to helping eradicate stigma,
educate the public and share stories of love and light,” said host
Pellegrino.

“Airing Addiction is a way for us to connect with the larger
community and encourage healing,” noted Pellegrino. “Now that we’ve
launched on iTunes and SoundCloud, we will be able to reach a much wider
range of listeners here in the U.S. and abroad who will now be able to
easily subscribe to our show and share it with their family and friends.”

To access today’s episode of Airing Addiction and maintain access
to future shows, subscribe on iTunes
and SoundCloud
today. For more information, please visit Spectrum’s Airing Addiction
Facebook page by visiting: www.facebook.com/AiringAddiction.

About Spectrum Health Systems:
Based in Worcester, Mass. and
founded in 1969, Spectrum Health Systems, Inc. is a private, nonprofit
substance abuse and mental health treatment provider. Spectrum offers
the largest and most complete continuum of addiction treatment in New
England — including inpatient detoxification, residential
rehabilitation, outpatient services, medication-assisted treatment and
peer recovery support. For more information, please visit www.spectrumhealthsystems.org.

Contacts

Matter Communications
Jackie Fraser, 978-358-5840
spectrum@matternow.com