SOUTHBRIDGE, MA – Harrington Hospital has been named a Blue Distinction Center for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery. The hospital is one of just six Massachusetts facilities to receive this new distinction from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA).
According to BCBSMA, the distinction is awarded to facilities that demonstrate a commitment to delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures developed with input from the community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.
“We’re proud to have received this distinction for our innovative recovery services at Harrington. This distinction is a testament to the focus on patient-centered, continuous care we’ve taken toward our recovery services in recent years,” said Harrington HealthCare System President and CEO Edward Moore.
“As a SHIFT-Care grantee, we’ve built a truly comprehensive care model that’s focused on a continuous transition of care, all the way from crisis response through to rehabilitation and supportive services out in the community. This transition of care is a model for the addiction recovery field, and provides our patients with the best chance at a full and lasting recovery. We look forward to continuing to build on this model in new and exciting ways in the months ahead,” Moore said.
The Blue Distinction Centers for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery designation requires facilities to deliver coordinated multidisciplinary care to patients and provide timely access to quality medical and psychosocial care in all phases of treatment. Designated facilities must also offer medication-assisted treatment, which includes both a medication component and behavioral therapy.
“Substance use disorders have a terrible impact on individuals, their families, and society. By meeting quality, safety and outcomes measures, organizations that earn designation as Blue Distinction Centers, in general, provide better care, better results and a better patient experience for our members,” said Bruce Nash, MD, chief physician executive, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
Harrington HealthCare System offers one of the most comprehensive recovery services programs in the state, with a full range of outpatient and inpatient recovery services available to patients at three locations across southern Worcester County.
Services include: addiction therapy; intensive day programs; partial hospital program; inpatient care; a suboxone program that pairs opioid replacement medication with comprehensive addiction treatment; a vibrant patient navigator program, which works to break the cycle of repeat visits to the Emergency Room by connecting patients to ongoing supportive services; collaboration with drug courts in East Brookfield, Dudley and Uxbridge; and expanded counseling services throughout the region.
Harrington Recovery Services at Webster, located at 340 Thompson Road in Webster, serves as the home base for Harrington’s substance use recovery services. Recognizing that substance use is often caused by underlying mental health challenges and disorders, the co-occurring diagnosis unit (CDU) was designed to provide a secure, local, acute care environment where patients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders can be treated on an outpatient basis or within a 16-bed inpatient unit.
To access substance use recovery services provided by Harrington HealthCare System, call (508) 765-2207 for a referral to the appropriate program and location.
About Harrington HealthCare System
Harrington HealthCare System is a comprehensive regional healthcare system serving more than 25 communities across south central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. The system includes Harrington Hospital in Southbridge, Harrington HealthCare at Webster and three additional major medical office buildings: Harrington HealthCare at Charlton, Harrington HealthCare at 169, also in Charlton, and Harrington HealthCare at Spencer; Harrington Physician Services, our primary care and multi-specialty physician group; UrgentCare Express at Harrington in Charlton and Oxford; The Cancer Center at Harrington in Southbridge, and the region’s largest Behavioral Health programs for mental health and substance use. www.harringtonhospital.org
About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.
© 2024 UMass Memorial Health
