CleanSlate Officials Join District Attorney’s Addiction Task Force

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Two West Springfield-based officials with CleanSlate Centers, which provides care to those suffering from opioid and alcohol addiction, have been asked to join the District Attorney’s Hampden County Addiction Task Force (HCAT).

CleanSlate’s Katie Roberts, care coordinator, and Jonathan Candee, manager for the West Springfield center located at 900 Memorial Ave., have accepted the opportunity to work more closely with the DA’s office, local healthcare providers, and other service providers in the region to help prevent and treat opioid addiction.

“Together with HCAT, we are not only making great strides in the fight against substance abuse but also helping to erase the stigma of addiction,” said Candee. “Successful community partnerships are vital to treating addiction, and I’m confident the residents of West Springfield will see great benefit from CleanSlate and HCAT joining forces. We’re excited about the opportunity to help impact more families in our area.”

Founded in 2009 in response to the growing opioid epidemic facing the country, CleanSlate has treated more than 14,000 patients in some of the states hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, including Massachusetts, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Northampton, CleanSlate operates 14 treatment centers across Massachusetts.

CleanSlate’s treatment methods are in accordance with the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), the nation’s leading addiction-medicine society, representing 4,000 physicians, clinicians, and other professionals, which dictates opioid addiction be defined as a primary, chronic, and relapsing brain disease.

“At CleanSlate, we know that opioid addiction is best treated as the chronic disease it is,” said Dr. Kelly Clark, chief medical officer of CleanSlate and president-elect of ASAM. “We currently treat thousands of patients for opioid and alcohol addiction in a comfortable outpatient environment with a full-time, dedicated team of physicians and advanced-practice clinicians. Our ultimate goal is to help these patients achieve the life they want and deserve — a ‘clean slate’ from which to thrive.”