Press Release

St. Mary's Healthcare Awarded Grant To Open Ambulatory Detox Program

Grant Will Assist Medical Staff In Expanding & Enhancing Addiction Treatment Services

FONDA - On Friday, County Executive Matthew L. Ossenfort announced that St. Mary's Healthcare, in Amsterdam, has been awarded a grant to establish and operate an Ambulatory Detoxification program.

The grant is for $586,000 and is being made through the Capital Restructuring Financing Program and Essential Health Care Provider Support Program. St. Mary's is aiming to launch the program by the end of this year.

"This grant will help St. Mary's continue to do a remarkable job, when dealing with individuals who are dealing with addictions and enhance their ability to fight those diseases," Ossenfort said. "This program will help to combat this very real threat that we face in our community. Addiction wreaks havoc on people's lives and can lead to a loss of employment, an increase in homelessness and affects our foster care caseload significantly."

This Ambulatory Detox program will allow the hardworking and dedicated staff in the Addiction Services unit of St. Mary's Healthcare to expand their addiction treatment services. This is especially important to deal with the management of withdrawal symptoms from opioids, including heroin and prescription pain medication.

"St. Mary's Hospital has a terrific and innovative addiction treatment program that has served as a model for other facilities throughout the state," said State Senator George Amedore, who assisted in the efforts to receive the grant. "This grant will help them expand their services and provide treatment to more patients, which is particularly important as the heroin and opioid crisis continues to devastate our communities. Efficient and innovative health care, including addiction treatment services, are vital to a strong and healthy community, and this grant is great news for Montgomery County and the entire region."

The Ambulatory Detox program is an outpatient model for individuals requiring detoxification from drugs or alcohol. There are many of the same benefits as inpatient care and the program is still a safe, medically-supervised, less-restrictive, cost-effective environment.

"The goal of the program is to double the number of patients we are able to serve in our existing outpatient addictions clinic," said Duane Miller, St. Mary's Vice President of Behavioral Health.

"The success of this program will be guided by St. Mary's continued collaboration with local and state resources, including Montgomery County officials, New York State Office of Addiction and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), and other health care providers and community-based organizations in our region," said Carol Greco, St. Mary's Director of Addiction Services.

St. Mary's Healthcare offers a comprehensive program for the detoxification, counseling and education for those suffering from addictive disease. If you or someone you know is fighting an addiction, contact St. Mary's Addiction Crisis Services at (518) 842-9111.