An effort to reduce substance abuse

By Angelo J. Nicholes

In Calverton, there is a treatment center that is taking a relatively new approach toward medical treatment of drug addiction, or substance abuse. Wellbridge Addiction Treatment and Research follows an “evidence-based” philosophy to substance-abuse treatment, focusing on patients’ mental health as a root cause of their substance abuse.

Dr. Edmond Hakimi oversees all medical care teams at Wellbridge. “Patients get patient-centered care, and every treatment they get is connected to an updated, evidence-based … treatment,” he said, noting that this is the beginning step to individualize treatment for each patient, rather than approach everyone with the same method.

There is often a stigma associated with substance abuse. “We can try and chip away at the stigma and shame that people go through,” said Andrew Drazan who is 66, and Wellbridge’s founder and chairman.

Many people see drug abusers as disheveled and homeless, when in reality many everyday people whom you wouldn’t suspect are living with substance abuse.

“I cringe when I hear the word addict … We are trying to get away from referring to people that way … The majority the people coming to Wellbridge are working people … The people who are coming in now are of all walks of life,” Drazan said. Growing up in Rockville Centre, he watched his parents get divorced when he was young, and his mother received custody. “I started to see some very peculiar things at 6 years old,” he said. “I came home as a 9-year-old, and she died of an overdose.”

For years, he felt ashamed about what happened to whis mother. In 2008, Drazan started volunteering at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, he said, escorting families to the morgue to identify their overdosed loved ones. “When I took families to the morgue for their overdosed children, I realized I was there for a reason,” he said. This led him to found Wellbridge.

Typical admission to a treatment center can be long and tedious, but Wellbridge helps to make it easier for those seeking care. “We can admit on a same-day basis…rather than having to send them to a hospital and escalate the level of care,” Drazan said.

Developers broke ground in 2018 and opened Wellbridge at the height of the pandemic. “For Wellbridge,” Drazan said, “the thought was always to have a holistic approach to care, but also to provide dignity, hope and respect… Why should you be diminished and disrespected?”

The 135,000-foot Wellbridge center comprises of 130 beds in six buildings. “It was an enormous undertaking… [but] it’s so rewarding for me,” said Drazan.