Rushford Experts in the Media

While there might be bigger facilities than Rushford, none are larger when it comes to being in the news.

Rushford staff members have become the go-to experts for the media. With the rise of the opioid epidemic, new drugs in the mix and overdoses at an all-time high, there was ample opportunity for Rushford to be seen and heard on television, radio, online and in the newspapers.

  • “We clearly took advantage of this opportunity — money can’t buy the exposure Rushford has received through earned media. Paid advertising has to be part of the media mix, but being seen as the experts in Connecticut and beyond puts us top-of-mind when community remembers need behavioral health services.”

    - Shawn Mawhiney, director of service line communications for Hartford HealthCare, which includes the Behavioral Health Network and Rushford

Senior leadership members Pat Rehmer, MSN, ACHE, J. Craig Allen, MD, and James O’Dea, PhD, MBA, were quoted on everything from “Jan-Sporting,” in which teenagers put backpacks on filled with pillows so that if they pass out from drinking they can’t roll onto their backs and choke on their own vomit, to political issues coming from Capitol and even former golfing great Tiger Woods getting a DUI.

And in addition to being quoted as experts, Rushford also made its own news for its use of yoga for those in recovery, recovery coaches in hospital emergency rooms and training police officers on how to use Narcan.

Rushford was also seen and heard in its community – it sponsored a wide range of events and staff members were in schools, health fairs and popular community events throughout its service area.

To view Rushford news clips, visit www.rushford.org and scroll down on the home page.