Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 2, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 11 treatment at the mobile unit as the first point of contact. While the balance started treatment at a brick-and-mortar Spectrum location, they now come to the mobile unit for easier access. e retention rate for patients is approximately 70%, she said. "at's huge," said DiRoberto. e 60 who started at the van were individuals who likely never would have had treatment at all otherwise, said DiRoberto. Much of the population coming to the mobile unit are unhoused. People who can access brick-and-mortar treatment centers have the means to travel there, while unhoused popula- tions have trouble leaving where they currently are. Spectrum is the third-largest addiction services provider in Central Massachusetts, with 569 employ- ees in the region, according to survey data com- piled by the WBJ Research Department. Spectrum gener- ated $100 million in revenue in 2021 and has $87 million in assets, according to its most recent tax forms available on the nonprofit website Guidestar. Opioid-related deaths are spiking Part of the reason the mobile treat- $1,198,000 Office Building Auburn, MA Commercial Real Estate Loan $3,200,000 Apartment Complex Worcester, MA Construction to Permanent Loan $1,450,000 Self Storage Facility Lancaster, MA Construction to Permanent Loan $1,400,000 Wine Vineyard Shrewsbury, MA Commercial Real Estate Loan To learn how we can help your business, contact: Maria Heskes-Allard Executive Vice President – Senior Lender, MLO #1522913 28 Franklin Street, Worcester, MA | 508.890.9087 PROUD TO BE YOUR LOCAL LENDER OF CHOICE: $500,000 Environmental Firm Sterling, MA Working Capital Line of Credit Kristin Nolan, chief behavioral health officer at Spectrum Health Systems ment facility is finding success in bring- ing patients in is because the services offered are desperately needed. In Worcester County, opioid-related deaths increased by nearly 20% from 2021 to 2022, one of the largest upticks across Massachusetts, and one of the largest bumps up in the past 10 years. In the county, 331 individuals died from opioid-related causes in 2022, the largest number in the past 10 years of data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. DiRoberto describes the mobile van as a miniature doctor's office on wheels. Continued on next page

• Cover