Last week was exciting and busy for our colleagues who treat patients with substance abuse disorders.
On Tuesday, we shared with many of you that our addiction services programs, including Stuyvesant Square (aka Stuy Square) and our opioid treatment programs, will now be known as the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai (AIMS). We will continue to offer the services we currently provide. We will also collaborate with other leading research programs across Mount Sinai Health System. The programs are already be partnering with AIMS through trials and studies that will ultimately benefit our patients.
It was wonderful to see so many of our addiction services teams connect on Tuesday. You will begin to see some changes in our signage and the way we promote the program in the community.
September is also National Recovery Month. Our opioid treatment program employees found surprising and engaging ways to help our patients express their feelings about recovery. On Wednesday, we held a special event where patients at each of our locations shared skits, music, poetry, artwork, and other expressions to celebrate the recovery process. Cheryl Marius, OTP clinic director, said the overwhelming theme was positivity. Our counselors work with patients to turn a difficult challenge into inspiring change. Recovery Month is a national celebration, and one of our patients won second place in the Recovery Month art contest.
I’m thankful that we can lift these patients up and celebrate their recovery journey.