Gosnold News

Gosnold on Cape Cod, the Cape's largest provider of addiction and mental health services, is offering a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating Cape Cod senior who has been accepted and is entering college in the Fall of 2008. The student must plan to major in psychology, social work or another field of study that is relevant to addiction and/or mental health.

Interested applicants must complete an application and submit an essay of at least 1,000 words that responds to a specific issue about addiction. Essay details are included in the application form.

Applications may be obtained by request via mail to Gosnold on Cape Cod Scholarship Committee, 200 Ter Heun Drive, Falmouth, MA 02540 or via e-mail from pames@gosnold.org.

Applications are due no later than April 30, 2008.
The award will be announced and the recipient will be notified by May 30, 2008.

Posted March 27, 2008



Gosnold Welcomes New Psychiatrist

Gosnold on Cape Cod is pleased to announce the hiring of David M. Dranetz, M.D. who has joined their pyschiatric staff.

Dr. Dranetz is a Cape Cod native, graduate of Harvard College, and Tufts University School of Medicine. He is Board Certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Dranetz comes to Gosnold with 15 years of experience in outpatient psychotherapy and psychiatric medication management and has worked in multiple settings including private practice, community mental health centers, psychiatric and general medical hospitals, and military service.

Dr. Dranetz completed his residency training at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu in 1992, and served as Division Psychiatrist and later Chief of Community Mental Health Services at Fort Riley, Kansas until 1995. He then combined private practice with community mental health center work first in Kansas and then in Texas. More recently, Dr. Dranetz had served on the psychiatric staff at Cape Cod Hospital from 2005-2007.

Gosnold C.E.O. Raymond V. Tamasi said, "We are very pleased that Dr. Dranetz has joined our staff. We are acutely aware of the shortage of psychiatrists on Cape Cod, particularly with the recent departure of two Upper Cape doctors. We are confident that Dr. Dranetz will help fill that need."

Dr. Dranetz is currently accepting patients at Gosnold's Centerville, Mashpee, and Falmouth locations, and treats a broad range of psychiatric conditions in adults of all ages.

Appointments can be made by calling 800-444-1554, option 2.

Posted March 27, 2008



Rocky's Gym and Gosnold Partner for Addiction Recovery

Treadmills, ab crunches, group therapy and counseling. What do they have in common? Plenty it seems, as Gosnold and Rocky's Gym are discovering. We've heard countless times that exercise and fitness can reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure and improve our outlook on life. Rocky Rodrigues, founder and owner of Rocky's Gym in East Falmouth decided to make it a possibility for patients from Gosnold's residential treatment program--The Miller House. He offered free one month gym memberships to the patients to get them started and those who wanted to remain after the first month got discounted memberships.

Open about his own alcohol addiction and his recovery, Rocky is a source of inspiration to the men. "Life isn't what has happened to you; it is what you choose to make it." "If I can do it--stay sober, said Rocky, anyone can if they are willing to work for it." Rocky knows that being fit and staying with an exercise program improves attitude and fosters the positive addictions--an important stage in recovery.

About ten men have taken Rocky up on his offer and they attend the gym daily. "It really helps me," said one of the men. "I sleep better at night; I feel calmer during the day and it helps lessen the anxiety that comes when you first stop using alcohol and other drugs."

Rocky and Gosnold hope to continue the program and expand it to include more patients who are in treatment.

Posted March 27, 2008

Emerson House Receives Prestigious Falmouth Stewardship Award

On November 29. 2004, Falmouth Historic District Chairman John S. Rodgers presented the Stewardship Award to the Emerson House in West Falmouth for "exemplary care, maintenance, and preservation of a major historic property by a non-profit social service agency and its supporters." Present to receive the award were Ray Tamasi, Gosnold President/CEO, Tommie Bower, Emerson House Director, and Martha Ross, Chair of the Advisory Council for Friends of Emerson House.

Over the past few years, since their founding in 1998, the Friends have raised funds that supported renovation of the House exterior, preservation of the original windows, and restoration of three bedrooms, four bathrooms, the living room, hallway, and front entrance. Two bedrooms on the second floor require restoration and when they are completed, the entire second floor will be restored. The Friends invite donors to help with the project. Information about making a donation to the project can be viewed at "Donate" on the Gosnold on Cape Cod home page. For further information about Emerson House, please contact Gosnold Development Director Meredith Presbrey at 508-540-6550.

Family care coordinators

Raymond Tamasi, Gosnold CEO, said the new clinicians, to be called family care coordinators, will individualize women's treatment programs and also train staff at Gosnold, Independence House and the Community Action Committee of the Cape and Islands, which runs Safe Harbor.

As Tamasi describes it, women in crisis will come in through the traditional "gates" - domestic abuse programs or substance abuse programs - but will get help with a multitude of issues. For instance, a woman seeking to escape a batterer may also benefit from a drug treatment program. And a woman seeking substance abuse counseling may have an abusive partner who should not be part of her treatment plan.

Research shows that women who abuse drugs and alcohol are more likely than average to be battered. Some of the same dynamics are at work in both addiction and physical victimization: low self-esteem, shame, and, sometimes, a previous history of physical or emotional abuse.

A 1997 study on whether a woman's drinking or drug use "provoked" beatings by men found that victims of domestic violence more commonly report drinking after abuse.

"Often times it is both parties who are using substances," Tamasi said. "The substance use just fuels the violence. It's important for people to know the use of substances doesn't serve as an excuse or justification. It's not sufficient to explain domestic violence in any way."

Addictions to alcohol or drugs can wreak havoc with the goals of a domestic violence prevention program. A battered woman may vow to stay away from a violent partner, but if he is also her dealer, and her drug use is untreated, her resolve may quickly wane.

While drug and alcohol counselors can often count on family support in helping a person stay clean, an abusive partner may use a girlfriend or wife's addiction to control the woman.

Tamasi said the new grant program, called Women Achieving Vital Empowerment, or WAVE, is a follow-up to a previous federal grant program that addressed the role of trauma in women in recovery from substance abuse. Both grants were written by the Institute of Health and Recovery in Cambridge. The new WAVE program "is building upon the gains made in that other program. I think that's part of why it was reviewed favorably in Washington," Tamasi said.

When the federal money fades in three years, there should be a local framework of people trained to deliver services to women suffering from domestic violence, trauma and substance abuse, Tamasi said.

CAPE COD MUSEUM OF ART PHOTO THE ART OF LIVING – Judge Joseph Reardon of 1st District Court in Barnstable speaks to members of the Barnstable Action for New Development program at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis. BAND members are used to seeing the judge every Tuesday in his black robe, presiding over the innovative “drug court” that stresses treatment rather than incarceration.

“We want to help them develop a dream for their lives and open imaginations,” said Jud Phelps, BAND program treatment director at Gosnold. “Many of the participants have never been in a museum this nice
or been treated this nice and made to feel special.”

The museum trip was Phelps’s idea, part of a continuing effort to introduce the group members to art, music and other cultural opportunities. They have attended performances by the Cape Symphony Orchestra also, and Phelps hopes that from these outings BAND members will develop a new appreciation for the arts.

“This is a different experience for you,” Reardon told the men and women Tuesday. “Art is part of all of our lives. You may wonder, why look at art? We look because we human beings ennoble ourselves through art.” The judge said he has loved art for his whole adult life. In a later interview, he cited the Musuem of Fine Arts in Boston and the Cape Symphony among the many other artistic venues he visits regularly.

“All arts give us new perspective on life,” he said. “They open windows.” Elizabeth Ives Hunter conveyed the museum’s excitement about hosting the group. “I look at all of you as prospective members, or prospective tudents in our education center,” she said. “Also, if you become wildly successful, I see you as potential donors as well.”

Artist Robert Douglas Hunter enthralled his audience with a painting demonstration. His remarks about art and always making paintings better could have been used as a metaphor for the process of self-improvement BAND members undertake.

“We make mistakes,” said the painter. “But you can always correct them.” Founded in 2001, the BAND program is a collaborative effort of Gosnold, 1st Barnstable District Court, the Cape & islands District Attorney’s office, and the court’s probation officers. A press statement from Gosnold notes that all participants are on probation and sentenced to this drug court program after being found to have alcohol or other substance abuse problems. The program helps them get treatment for their illness and establish a new direction in their lives.

There are 150 participants, and about 50 new members are added each year.

Falmouth - Gosnold's New Addiction Treatment Center Helps Expand Services To Community

By NADIA C. HARMSEN
Falmouth Enterprise

NADIA C. HARMSEN/ENTERPRISE Congressman William Delahunt.

A 16-year-old recovering heroin addict, a dean’s list student recovering from a cocaine addiction, a landscape business owner, and an executive secretary, also recovering addicts—these were the “voices of recovery” who shared their stories before family, friends, staff, and state representatives at the newly expanded Gosnold Inc., a transitional care center on Route 28A, Cataumet.

Gosnold Inc. is a Cape Cod-based provider of addiction and mental health treatment with eight outpatient clinics and five in-patient centers throughout Cape Cod.

There are programs tailored specifically for men, women, and teens, as well as those for infants and children, which cover the
gamut of mental, emotional, and chemical illnesses.

Gosnold treats more than 3,500 patients in its programs and has been in existence since 1972, according to its web site.

Congressman William D. Delahunt and Representatives Eric T. Turkington (D-Falmouth), Cleon H. Turner (D-Yarmouth), Jeffrey D. Perry (R-Sandwich) and aide Peggi Konner, representing Matthew C. Patrick (D-Falmouth) gathered for the breakfast Friday morning to hear about the programs and tour the new facilities.

Present and past residents recalled the loss of family, friends, employment, and control of lives, with some individuals ending up in prison.

They spoke of the support from staff and benefits of the Gosnold programs and thanked the representatives for their support of Gosnold’s programs, but urged for more.

Residents also spoke highly of the BAND (Barnstable Action for New Directions) drug court treatment program, which addresses the interrelated problems of addiction and crime and provides case management services to drug court participants.

The goal of the program is to reduce the number of repeat offenders and help participants remain in addiction treatment programs.

“It costs $14,000 annually to have a person participate in BAND versus $40,000 to have them incarcerated,” said Raymond V. Tamasi, chief executive officer of Gosnold. “Recovery does work.”

The program is a collaborative effort between the First District Court of Barnstable County, the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office, and Gosnold.

“You people are inspirational; I was inspired listening to you,” said Mr. Delahunt. “Be proud of what you have accomplished here.”

The public perception of drug and alcohol recovery is a negative one. The media often cover only when someone overdoses, said Mr. Delahunt. “It is up to you to show people that recovery does work.”

He reminded his listeners that “Gosnold is a business, a business that saves lives.”

Mr. Delahunt supported Gosnold’s loan application to the US Department of Agriculture and helped the program secure funding for construction on the Cataumet center.

Ms. Konner encouraged the audience to write their representatives to support funding for programs like Gosnold.

“I work for Mr. Patrick and I always read the handwritten letters first,” said Ms. Konner. She also shared that a member of her family had had a substance abuse.

“As Gosnold services continue to grow, the demand is also growing,” said County Commissioner Mary J. LeClair, chairman of the board.

“We receive 800 to 1,000 calls a week from all over the state about treatment,” said Mr. Tamasi.

Gosnold’s new facility that opened two weeks ago brings the total of beds in the Gosnold program to 190, said Mr. Tamasi.

The Cataumet facility is the site of Gosnold’s transition support services program. It serves as a post-detoxification rehabilitation center. This program had started in Hyannis and was moved to the Cataumet campus in 2001.

The center has seven residents already and will eventually house 30 patients for an average stay of four to six weeks.