A POWERFUL PARTNER
Expanding how we support the people and communities we serve
A YEAR OF FIRSTS
Another year has come and gone, and we continue to be in awe of the work that the Root Center for Advanced Recovery has accomplished yet again. As we celebrate five years under our new name of Root, we can’t help but feel immense pride looking back over all of our progress in that time.
This year was especially monumental for Root Center. When we started with Root as your CEO and Board President, respectively, we could not help but notice the glaring need for access to addiction treatment services in Middlesex County. At the time, Methadone Clinics, were explicitly prohibited within the city limits of Middletown. Because of this, some of our patients who lived in Middletown and the surrounding communities were extremely challenged with arduous travel and obstacles when seeking care, all because a discriminatory law made treatment in their hometown impossible. For five years, Root fought tirelessly to bring about much needed change in Middlesex County, particularly, Middletown. We opened the first clinic in the area to provide methadone treatment, which we know is one of the most efficacy-based treatments available for Opioid Use Disorder. Now, patients in Middlesex County will no longer have to seek treatment in other counties and can finally continue their recovery journey closer to home. At Root, we strongly believe in equal access to care, and this new Middletown Clinic will help us continue to work towards that goal.
Aside from opening our new healthcare clinic in Middletown , we have had many other significant accomplishments over the past year. We broke ground on a new facility in Hartford , signed a lease for our first ever location in New Haven County, Branford, continued construction on ongoing projects, like our first ever Residential Treatment center in New Britain, expanded our school-based services to 14 schools, and added new service lines.
We also formed new partnerships with outside organizations like Apple Rehab and Pequot Health Care, which will help ease access to care and treatment outcomes across Connecticut. Root also continued supporting other organizations through sponsorships, donations, and volunteering, as we know we are stronger together.
At Root Center, one of our core values is progress is the destination, and this year certainly reflected that as we continued making ground on several initiatives that will come to fruition in the years to come. Another core value of Root is honoring the power in everyone, and this year especially, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge and honor the power that each of our staff members put forth during the past year. Without our staff, none of this would be possible, and we are continually grateful to lead an organization dedicated to making recovery more accessible for all.
Warmly, Steven Zuckerman, President
& CEO
Bruce Simons, Board President
SUPPORTING OUR
At the Root Center, we focus every day on serving our communities and providing top tier mental health and addiction services to those in need. As part of our commitment, Root is always looking to bring new facilities and service lines to underserved communities across Connecticut. We strive to make treatment more inclusive and accessible for those in need. Root realizes that one of the greatest predictors of treatment success is services close to home as it helps to facilitate sustained participation.
New clinic in Middletown
COMMUNITIES
Before the Grand Opening of our new clinic in Middletown in February, Middlesex County did not have any treatment facilities offering methadone because such clinics were disallowed in planning and zoning regulations. The Root Center is proud to now be the first and only mental health and addiction treatment healthcare facility to offer methadone in Middlesex County. The statistics regarding mental health and addiction treatment needs are staggering. Middlesex County had previously seen the highest year-over-year increase in overdose deaths, and yet, was the only county in Connecticut with no methadone clinic.
Our new Washington Street clinic will change the face of recovery for residents in Middlesex County, giving them the option of seeking treatment in their own community, rather than having to travel, often lengthy distances, on public transit or rideshare services, six days a week as they begin treatment. Our goal at the Root Center is to be able to offer mental health and addiction treatment services across Connecticut, especially to those often most marginalized in our communities.
Root Center leadership at Middletown Clinic Grand Opening
Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim
Middletown Clinic Ribbon Cutting
Root made significant progress on other
facilities that are scheduled to
open in the coming fiscal year.
We broke ground on a new clinic on Lafayette Street in Hartford and this new state-of-the-art location will rehome our patients and staff from our Doctor’s Clinic location on Main Street. We are especially excited to open this new clinic because we are also creating space to add primary health care services, thereby creating a holistic care treatment environment. We expect to celebrate our grand opening for the new Lafayette Street clinic in early 2025.
Another major undertaking this year was the continued construction of our first ever residential treatment facility on Whiting Street in New Britain. Root Center seeks to offer treatments that best serve the patient, and for many, this includes residential services. This facility will be the first of its kind for Root, and we are excited for this project to come to life as there is an immense need for such treatment facilities in our state. We anticipate this facility to be completed at the end of 2024, and it will offer residential care for 13 men and women.
New clinic on Lafayette Street in Hartford
Our Weston Street Campus in Hartford, currently home to our Henderson Johnson Clinic and Central Admissions Clinic, is also undergoing substantial renovations and improvements. We feel strongly that our facilities need to be places where patients feel proud to recover. All too often, mental health and addiction treatment hides in the shadows and comes with shame. We believe that mental health is health, and this is why every new building we create is state-of-the-art, and beautifully designed. We anticipate this project to be fully completed in the spring of 2025.
Groundbreaking for new clinic on Lafayette Street in Hartford
Bruce Simons, Root Center Board President at Lafayette Street Clinic construction site
FIVE YEARS OF ROOT
In the 5 years we have spent under our new name of Root Center for Advanced Recovery, this longstanding Connecticut nonprofit has achieved success on numerous fronts. From new facilities, to service lines, research, and more, Root continues to grow.
NAME CHANGE The Root Center for Advanced Recovery brand name is launched after operating for nearly 150 years as The Hartford Dispensary, which first opened in 1871.
SEPTEMBER 2018
NEW BRITAIN CLINIC OPENS
Our New Britain Clinic gets a new state of the art facility on East Main Street, replacing Root Center’s prior New Britain location on Whiting Street.
JANUARY 2022
LAUNCHED TELEHEALTH Root amplified its telehealth services in response to the COVID19 pandemic. This year, Root provided nearly 70,000 telehealth sessions.
JUNE 2020
JANUARY 2021
CLINICAL GRAND ROUNDS LAUNCHES These virtual monthly presentations feature subject matter experts who present on topics related to mental health and/or addiction. Continuing education units are also available through these presentations.
OCTOBER 2019
MIDDLETOWN SAYBROOK OPENING Root Center opens its first clinic on a healthcare campus at Middlesex Health’s facility on Saybrook Road in Middletown. This clinic is also the first clinic at Root to offer adolescent services for teens ages 13-17.
APRIL 2022
ADVANCED RECOVERY INSTITUTE CREATED Root launches new entity to elevate clinical care and patient outcomes by conducting research and sponsoring mental health and substance use disorder training and education programs.
MEMORIAL GARDEN OPENS
FIRST FULLY FUNDED ROOT GRANT
Root Center has long invested in research, but this year was the first time we awarded a grant to fully fund a studyproviding $100,000 to Dr. Kaminer and his team at UConn.
MARCH 2023
The Root Center Memorial Garden opened on International Overdose Day, August 31st, 2022. The garden sits behind our Manchester Clinic. and is open to the public as a sanctuary peace and reflection, and to honor those lost to the disease of addiction.
AUGUST 2022
NEW HARTFORD LOCATION
GROUNDBREAKING Root Center breaks ground on a new location to replace our Main Street clinic. This new state of the art facility will be on Lafayette Street, and will also offer primary healthcare services.
SEPTEMBER 2023
MIDDLETOWN WASHINGTON
OPENING After a 5 year legal battle against discriminatory planning and zoning laws, Root Center opens the first and only treatment facility to offer methadone in Middlesex County. This new clinic on Washington Street now offers services closer to home for those living in Middletown and the surrounding areas.
FEBRUARY 2024
OCTOBER 2022
SCHOOL BASED SERVICES
LAUNCHED Root Center launches school based services, offering treatment for adolescents ages 13-17 both in school and at our Middletown Saybrook Clinic.
NOVEMBER 2023
EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS Root Center
celebrates two major partnerships with outside healthcare providers, Apple Rehab, which now accepts patients on methadone, and Pequot Health Care, as their behavioral healthcare provider of choice.
MARCH 2023
FIRST RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT
GROUNDBREAKING Root Center breaks ground at our former clinic location on Whiting Street in New Britain, and begins construction for Root Center’s first ever residential treatment facility.
APRIL 2024
SIGNED LEASE FOR FIRST NEW HAVEN COUNTY SITE Root Center gets ready to plant ROOTs in New Haven County at the Stony Creek Medical Center. This clinic will be similar to our Middletown Saybrook Clinic, and will also offer adolescent services.
EXTENDING OUR
For more than 50 years as the Hartford Dispensary, we were primarily known for being the largest methadone provider in the state. Since we updated our name, Root has added a wide array of services to address our patients needs more holistically.
For example, we are proud to offer Spravato and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, both treatments that target treatment resistant depression. We also provide Adult Day Treatment, and adolescent services both in schools and at our Middletown Saybrook location, and soon to be offered at our new Branford clinic. This year, we are proud to provide services in 14 schools, up from zero just two years ago! We also added problem gambling treatment, and these services are offered through our New London Clinic, as well as virtually.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation machine
We added Recovery Coaches to our staff as we continue to expand the ways in which we meet the clients to best serve their needs. A Recovery Coach is a certified staff member with lived experience and understanding of the addiction recovery process. We believe having recovery coaches on staff helps elevate our quality of care and diversifies our staff and treatment offerings.
To make access to treatment more convenient for our patients, we expanded our admissions hours at our Central Admissions Clinic in Hartford and added intake on Saturdays to meet the growing need for care. With the addition of a new partnership with Pequot Health Care in New London County, we started offering admissions at our Norwich Clinic for patients who find this location to be more convenient.
CONTINUUM OF CARE
Recovery Coach Angel Pagan
Spravato treatment
Recovery Coach Maria Aquilera
EXPANDING OUR
At Root Center, we believe that we are stronger together and know that success is rooted in partnerships that amplify our mental health and addiction treatment to communities across Connecticut.
This year was a major year for new collaborations, and Root is proud to now partner with Pequot Health Care as their healthcare provider of choice for addiction and mental health treatment. Pequot Health Care is a wholly owned business of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, long recognized as a leader in managing health care plans for Native American tribes and other commercial enterprises. This partnership will serve members and employees of Tribal Nations.
Another partnership we launched this year was with Apple Rehab. With twenty-one locations across Connecticut and Rhode Island, Apple Rehab is one of the region’s largest and most progressive short-term rehabilitation companies. Previously, Apple Rehab did not accept patients who were on methadone and as part of our partnership, changed their policy and are now taking a huge step toward breaking the stigma associated with this lifesaving medication.
Root Center and Pequot Health Care partnership celebration
Aside from these partnerships, Root is also regularly involved with other organizations and events. This year, we had the pleasure of helping several causes across the state, some new, and others that we have supported for many years.
Some of these included speaking to adolescents at Camp Courant, hosting a table at Willimantic’s Third Thursday summer events, New London and Middletown Pride celebrations, Southeastern Mental Health Authority Integrated Care Open House, Hands and Hearts Together, Community Mental Health Associates Recovery Carnival, Q Williams Taste of Middletown, Big Brothers Big Sisters Gala, and so much more!
PARTNERSHIPS
From sponsoring, to donating and volunteering our time to these events and organizations, we know that we have supported other organizations that aim to help different communities, causes, and people. We are proud to offer resources when we can, and we are so proud of our staff who also volunteer their time to attend so many of these events.
Root Center and Apple Rehab leadership at partnership celebration ceremony
ELEVATING OUR
In 2022, we launched the Advanced Recovery Institute (ARI), an entity of the Root Center that seeks to elevate clinical care and patient outcomes by conducting research and sponsoring mental health and substance use disorder training and education programs.
Last year, the Advanced Recovery Institute awarded its first grant - $100,000 to UCONN to support the research project of Dr. Yifrah Kaminer for his study entitled Youth Opioid Overdose: Implementing Overdose Suicide Risk Assessment Solutions. This year, Dr. Kaminer is running the study with roughly 30 individuals participating. We anticipate the study to conclude in the coming months and anticipate seeing the results published in an online journal.
Grant recipient Dr Yifrah Kaminer joins Recovery With Root podcast to discuss progress on youth opioid overdose research study
Another staple for ARI is hosting two annual Community Forums. These forums are meant to be thought-provoking discussions on pertinent mental health and/or addiction topics with leading experts on the topic.
This year, our fall forum was on “The Future of Psychedelics and Mental Health Treatment” and our spring forum was on “Harm Reduction: Navigating Public and Political Perceptions.” These events are free and open to the public, and we invite all to attend either in-person at our Manchester Clinic, or virtually.
ARI also hosts a robust calendar of Clinical Grand Rounds presentations, held virtually every month, free and open to the public, and offering Continuing Education Units (CEUs). This year, we covered many interesting topics, including, pregnancy and substance use disorders, suicide and addiction, treating transgender clients, and managing burnout in clinicians, just to name a few.
FIELD
As part of our commitment to education and training, we host a robust internship program across multiple departments. This year, we had 35 interns in finance, HR, quality and compliance, counseling, and more from universities and colleges across the country.
Finally, to further ARI’s focus on informing and educating the public, we launched our monthly Recovery with Root podcast which focuses on mental health and addiction topics. New episodes are released on the first Monday of each month and can be streamed wherever you get your podcasts.
Community Forum on Harm Reduction
TEAM & CULTURE
ENERGIZING OUR
In order to provide the best care possible, we pride ourselves on having a strong team that is always growing. This year, we had several key new hires across different departments.
We added two new directors, Geina Palmer, as one of our Director of Operations, and Joseph Maddalena, Director of Nursing. We also had two internal promotions to leadership and executive roles, Ashley Hickey, our former Middletown Clinic Supervisor is now one of our Directors of Operations, and Margaux Farrell was promoted from Marketing Director to Chief of Staff. We are excited to bring on talented new staff, and see current employees continue to grow within the organization.
Another important staff recognition from the year was our Root Nurse of the Year, which went to Julie Handleman, R.N., B.S.N.. Julie has been with Root Center for six years, and she is currently the Nursing Supervisor at our New London Clinic. Julie embodies what it means to be a trusted healthcare professional. She represents Root in a way that exudes dedication and compassion, and we are honored to have her on our team. Thank you, Julie, for your continued dedication to our patients, and our organization, allowing us to continue providing hope to those in need.
Margaux Farrell
Ashley Hickey
Joesph Maddalena
Geina Palmer
See Our Years of Service Staff Award
Hear From One Of Our New Hires
What Our Employees Are Saying
TEAM & CULTURE
To maintain a positive work life balance, which we know is key in supporting our staff’s wellbeing, Root prides itself on finding ways to reward and thank staff for the work that they perform daily.
We were excited to continue a few of our yearly traditions this year, including our:
• Ice cream day, where we have an ice cream truck go to each clinic and give out free treats to our staff in the summer
• Phantom Fall Fest at Lake Compounce, where staff get to enjoy this Connecticut staple amusement park and their Halloween festivities
• Delivery of a free Lyman Orchards apple pie for each staff member ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday
• Our annual holiday party, which includes a night of raffle prizes, a photo booth, dancing, caricature artists, food, and more
Phantom Fall Fest staff event at Lake Compounce
Root Center staff volunteering at Camp Courant
Root Center’s Nurse of the Year, Julie Handleman R.N., B.S.N.
Root Center ice cream truck day. Free frozen treats for all staff!
As one of our core values states, it is so important that we renew ourselves to share our strengths, and all these initiatives help us to do just that.
Our Health and Wellness Committee also found ways to treat staff to some fun experiences. We hosted a paint night, had a free smoothie day, and even offered chair massages. We hope these gestures and events show our gratitude to our staff because we are so thankful to have such a wonderful and hardworking team.
Root Chief of Staff, Margaux Farrell, and Ashley Hickey, Director of Operations, volunteering with Urban League of Greater Hartford, writing messages to students for back to school.
Ben Metcalf, COO, and his family at our staff appreciation event at Lake Compounce
Chair massages, another treat from the Health and Wellness Committee
Pie Day
Middletown Pride
Intern Opening Cermony
Middletown On Main Torrington Thanksgiving
Staff At The Yard Goats Game
Willimantic Third Thursdays
New London Pride at the beach
Pie Day
Root Center ice cream truck day. Free frozen treats for all staff!
Free smoothies on behalf of the Health and Wellness Committee
Geina Palmer, Director of Operations and Kim Pascale, Henderson Johnson Clinic Supervisor volunteering at a back to school event.
RECOVERY STORY
KELLY
I was eighteen the first time I came to what was then the Hartford Dispensary for a twenty-one-day detox. I wasn’t aware of its significant history in the community or of the important place it would later take in my life, and I would use again when the detox was over. But a seed was planted. When I again confronted the challenge of not wanting to use but being unable to face withdrawal, somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that methadone was an option, a little breathing room from the endless cycle of sickness.
Although it started with a long bus ride to prison, I was substance free. I completed a long-term program and was just entering society again when I was in a very serious car accident that left me paralyzed and in a coma for some time. I had a significant brain injury, and I was on a lot of pain meds. As my mind began to recover and I learned to walk again, I realized I was addicted to these medications. I was terrified because I knew heroin was the next step. Understanding what life on the streets would look like in my condition, I again sought help at the clinic.
I am so thankful for that choice today. A few months after starting methadone treatment, both my mom and baby sister passed away suddenly from a congenital heart condition. I had a new baby, and we
spent the next decade trying to cope with this mysterious illness and with numerous medical traumas and additional losses. In this chaotic and traumatic period, I am convinced that I would have also been managing an active opiate addiction were it not for the clinic. I built a little life with my son far outside of Hartford, and came to the clinic once a week for over ten years. No one in my community knew about those trips. The stigma and shame of medication assisted treatment would have ostracized my little family. Little did anyone know that because of methadone I was able to remain somewhat stable, to pay my bills and even get an associate’s degree.
ROOT
CENTER SHOWED ME THAT RADICAL
NONJUDGEMENT BEFORE I UNDERSTOOD IT MYSELF, AND I REMAIN ALWAYS GRATEFUL AND HUMBLED
I moved home to care full-time for my elderly aunt, and after the onset of more medical issues and destabilizing factors, I relapsed using cocaine and other prescription drugs. It was a horrible time, but throughout it, my counselor and even the entire clinic was patient and supportive of me. They never treated me with contempt, only kindness and good will. This was no small feat considering my destructive behavior and the harm it was causing. I knew on some level that they believed in me, and that they understood. Their support quite literally saved my life.
BY ITS ESSENTIAL PLACE IN MY STORY.
I now have another decade of recovery of an entirely different kind, but those years spent with methadone as my sole solution allowed me the experiences necessary to reach such a pivotal point in my story. I cared lovingly for my aunt until her passing in 2019, I raised a child whom I adore and am so proud of, and in August of 2024, I graduated from the honors program at the University of Connecticut, with a degree focused on human development and human rights.
I now work in the recovery field, with women who suffer from both substance use disorder and complex PTSD. I am able to do this today because I dismissed the misinformation and shame surrounding methadone and focused on my quality of life above all. Methadone might allow us a much longer and more stable life, giving us the chance to evolve into the people we are meant to be. Truthfully, Root Center showed me that radical nonjudgement before I understood it myself, and I remain always grateful and humbled by its essential place in my story.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WE ARE COMMITTED TO INVESTING IN
• Expanding our outreach and deepening our impact
• Creating the conditions for our team to grow themselves and their vital relationships with others
• Collaborating with each other and our communities to help shift perspectives surrounding our field of behavioral health
• Creating a brand presence and living story that inspires pride in our work and invites possibilities for the future
• Finding the best ways to communicate and share our best practices and to implement new standards of care
• Creating an environment with the infrastructure, processes, and technology that supports our practice
• Building foundational tools for recovery by encouraging openminded thinking and a unique approach to behavioral health and growth
OFFICERS:
Bruce Simons, Chairperson
Patricia Rehmer, Vice Chairperson
Steven Zuckerman, President/CEO
Darcie Boiano, Secretary
DIRECTORS:
Stephen Fisher
Dave Louden
John Mohring
William E. Schumann
Eric Zachs
Dr. Martin Anderson
Dr. Carla Rash
Dr. David Hopkins
OUR PURPOSE OUR VALUES
Our purpose is to create relationships that empower the courage and ability to change.
This means being there from the start and providing guidance and support throughout the entire recovery journey.
We are caring, intelligent people committed to supporting others. As an organization, we are committed to supporting our people as they continue to grow, develop and advance.
Honor the power in everyone
Renew ourselves to share our strength
Embrace new perspectives
Progress is the destination
