Hartford HealthCare TV show offers “Hope After Heroin”
Recovering clients whose lives have been transformed by the care they received within the Behavioral Health Network were the focus of a special half-hour television special produced in partnership with the Hartford HealthCare News Service.
“Hope After Heroin: Stories of Recovery” aired on NBC-CT on Saturday, June 11, 2016 with an encore on Sunday, June 19. A link to the show as well as a listing of resources and information on addiction and treatment services can be found at a specially created website, www.hhchope.org.
Among the clients featured in the special television segment was Marilyn Clark, a former client at Natchaug Hospital’s Care Plus program in Groton. Clark was in her mid-30s when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The mother of three was prescribed Vicodin to help her deal with the intense pain. It helped the pain, at first. But in just a few months, Marilyn —a woman who rarely drank and didn’t experiment with drugs — was addicted to prescription painkillers. Just one year in, she switched to heroin because it was cheaper and easier to find. She lost her home, her career and almost lost her children. It would take years, but Marilyn Clark found hope after heroin with medication-assisted treatment and therapy.
The program takes an in-depth look at the journey to recovery taken by Clark and three other clients who were treated across the Behavioral Health Network, including a young mother, a college student and another young man in recovery. The show also includes commentary from Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network president Patricia Rehmer and Natchaug Hospital Care Plus lead therapist Justin Mink, LPC.
Marilyn Clark, a former MATCH client at Natchaug Hospital’s Groton program, was one of the clients highlighted during the “Hope After Heroin” special on NBC-CT.
“We are enormously proud of the work we are doing to lead the effort against this epidemic of opioid and heroin abuse,” said Rehmer. “We believe these stories of recovery offer hope and will motivate people to seek the help they need to overcome their addictions and help them lead normal lives again.”