Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 17, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 19 Monday, June 5, 2017 Wachusett Country Club West Boylston, MA Kettle Brook Golf Club Paxton, MA www.worcester.edu/golf Presenting Sponsor Gene J. DeFeudis Bronze Sponsor Silver Sponsor Gold Lunch Sponsor Platinum Print Media Sponsor 1/4 alumni golf 2017 ad2.indd 1 3/31/17 12:43 PM Worcester Business Journal Worcester Business Worcester Business Journal Worcester Business Journal WBJ Worcester Business Journal WBJ WBJ Worcester Business Journal WBJ WBJ WBJ New logo: Use this when Congratulations to all the recipients of the Worcester Business Journal's Manufacturing Excellence Awards: • MTD Micro Molding • KINEFAC Corp. • Bella Storage Solution / F&M Tool and Plastics Inc. • Oyo Sportstoys, Inc. • Seaman Paper Co. of Massachusetts, Inc. • LAMPIN Corp. • VIBRAM USA and especially... • Cogmedix, A Coghlin Company proud partners of our region's manufacturers Coghlin Electrical Contractors, Inc. Coghlin Network Services, Inc. Susan Mailman, President 100 Prescott Street Worcester, MA 01605 508-793-0300 • www.coghlin.com Opioid response Speakers at Worcester opioid event share personal stories and look for crisis solutions S hortly before his mother died in July, Brian Keith relapsed. Keith, whose struggle with drugs and alcohol began as a teenager, has suffered from substance abuse disor- der for nearly two decades. At his job at Savers Bank, Keith would fall asleep at his desk and call out frequently. It took him months to admit the full scope of his disease to the bank, but when he finally did, his recovery path began. In September, he went into a four-day detox program at Spectrum Health Systems, followed by time at New England Recovery Center. These programs saved his life, he said, and seven months later, he is sober and enjoying the job he always loved. Keith shared his story with more than 150 business and healthcare pro- fessionals at Worcester Business Journal's inaugural Massachusetts Opioid Crisis Forum, held March 29 at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester. Engaging the business community In the keynote address, Allison Bauer, director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the state's plan to fight the opioid epidemi- cis centers around prevention, interven- tion, treatment and recovery. Since January 2015, the state added more than 500 treatment beds for sub- stance use, improved its data collection system, and implemented core compe- tencies on how to treat the disease for medical and dental students, said Bauer. One of her goals is to get narcan, which blocks opioid overdoses, into the hands of as many people as possible. "We have to engage business leaders and the business community to be able to help reduce stigma," she said. Destigmatizing addiction Even though there has been a great effort in recent years to de-stigmatize substance abuse disorder, people are still afraid to talk about it with their employers because they fear judgment. BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer "It's rare that you admit [substance abuse disorder] to your employer because of the fear and stigma that they're going to cut you loose," said Kurt Isaacson, president and CEO of Spectrum, a panelist at the event. That's why it's important for employ- ers to have an open dialogue around the topic with their employees, he said. Remembering it is personal The program closed with brief remarks from James Baker, a Holden doctor who shortly after Christmas lost his son to a drug overdose. Before his son died, Baker said the two discussed the best way to fight the epidemic. His son said stigma needs to be eradicated, and narcan and treat- ment should be more widely available. "When you hear 2,000 deaths, and see the slides, it can become a blur. But what does that mean on an individual level?" Baker said. W Brian Keith said he received full support from the leadership at Savers Bank during his recovery process, which helped him return to be a productive employee. P H O T O / R O N B O U L E Y

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