Clinical & Support Options Recognizes Leaders in Behavioral-health Field

NORTHAMPTON — With more than 750 employees making a difference in the lives its Western Mass. clients, nonprofit community behavioral-health agency Clinical & Support Options (CSO) has no shortage of talent to recognize. Each year, agency leaders sift through more than 100 employee-nominated contenders in order to present a handful of award-winners.

On Dec. 6 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, the agency held its annual Employee Recognition Celebration. At this event, framed by dinner and dancing, CSO named its 2019 Excellence Awards recipients. This year’s award winners were:

• Exemplary Team: Springfield Outpatient & Family Support Programs;

• Community Service Leadership: Dr. Enrico Mezzacappa;

• Exemplary Direct Service: Dennis Sheehan;

• Agency Morale & Spirit: Jessica Charette-Fallon;

• Exemplary Administrative Support: Lorraine Noga;

• Commitment to Recovery: Erika Hensel; and

• Outstanding Leadership: Colleen Felton.

“These CSO employees represent the very best in community-based healthcare,” said CSO President and CEO Karin Jeffers. “For utter professionalism, deeply rooted ethics, and trauma-informed practices, these individuals and teams reflect the agency’s values, going above and beyond each and every day to deliver quality service that makes a difference in the lives of people in our region.”

In addition to the seven Excellence Awards, dozens were honored individually in acknowledgement of their benchmark years-of-service anniversaries. Jane Lavalle celebrated her 20th anniversary with CSO. Eight others celebrated 15 years of service. Forty more were named for their 10-year anniversaries, and 31 more for their five-year anniversaries.

“The fact that so many employees remain with CSO so many years is a testament to our staff’s own dedication as well as to the meaningful work being done in our communities,” Jeffers said. “It also says a lot about CSO as an agency — that our values and best practices matter.”