Mitch Baumann knows the price of addiction. Four years ago, he lost his brother to a fentanyl overdose. As someone who battled his own problem with cocaine, who was once homeless and in and out of treatment, Baumann also understands the stigma that comes with the disease and how the bias and shame that people face coming out of rehab can inhibit recovery.
“I remember the resentment, distrust, and prejudice,” says Baumann. “Addicts were just street junkies and hoodlums, not regular folks. Abstinence was the only model for treatment — there was no long-term care. Nobody becomes an addict in one day; nobody gets sober in one day. But no one wanted anything to do with people actually getting better.”
Fusion Recovery takes
an integrated approach to
treating addiction
By StoryStudio on July 12, 2023
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SPONSORED BY Fusion Recovery
Laser Hair Removal
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“You can’t paint someone experiencing addiction or alcoholism with a broad brush,” says Baumann. “We’re all individuals. The disease will manifest itself similarly in many people, but each individual is dealing with their own issues. That’s why we use an eclectic approach that combines group sharing and more intimate one-on-one conversations. We meet the client where they are.”
And then, once the person has detoxed and started the meds and clinical therapy that will start them on the path to recovery, Fusion Recovery follows them further down that path. They provide an integrated model of occupational and vocational therapy, connect them with resources that will help them find food, shelter, and work. They organize local charity work and outreach — pretty much anything necessary to keep them away from recidivism and working toward a brighter future.
“The Capital Region needs this,” says Baumann. “This disease does not discriminate. There are people in this community who need help. This is very personal to me. I buried 11 friends last year, and this crisis is not going away anytime soon. As it matriculates through our society, somebody has to be there.”
The National Center for Health Sciences found that in 2022, there were more than 105,000 deaths due to drug overdose in the U.S. Nearly 80,000 of those deaths were opioid-related, and the crisis shows no signs of going away any time soon.
Fusion Recovery is combatting this epidemic with full a continuum of clinical and medical care. This includes outpatient detox in a comfortable and safe environment under compassionate personalized care and medication-assisted treatment, plan to offer methadone among other optionsincluding a new alternative to methadone. Once a patient has stabilized from a detox, Fusion Recovery uses Sublocade, producing similar effects and preventing withdrawal symptoms in people who have stopped using these drugs. But this is not just a drug window — that medication is coupled with outpatient therapy to better ensure long-term success.
“Today when people think about treatment, it’s Hollywood folks going to rehab for 28 days,” says Dr. Kent Hoffman, Medical Director at Fusion Recovery who has worked in addiction for more than 20 years. “That might be a start. But you don’t want to get someone off alcohol or drugs, put them on an abstinence program, and forget about them. The most dangerous time for someone dealing with addiction is coming out of an abstinence program, because if they fall into the same old habits and relapse, it could cause an overdose.”
"This disease does not discriminate. There are people in this community who need help."
This sort of integrated care is part of what sets Fusion Recovery apart. But the true differentiator is the center’s approach to treating the whole person, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
“Meds are important, but they don’t build a life,” says Baumann. “I’m the guy you call after rehab. I want to be the one place after rehab where a person can get better and get back on track. We’re not a traditional methadone clinic, we’re a fully integrated treatment center. We want to be a resource for the Capital Region. It’s time to fill in that gap.”
This holistic approach starts with dispelling the stigma of addiction and rehab. As soon as a person walks into Fusion Recovery, they are greeted with compassion and acceptance by a staff member who understands — not only are all Fusion employees certified in their field, but most of the staff are also in recovery, themselves. Baumann set out to recruit a diverse workforce from different backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and individual perspective, but they all share a firsthand experience with addiction.
But while the Fusion staff have had their own encounters with addiction, they also understand that every individual’s addiction and struggle is shaped by their unique life experience. That’s why they take time to get to know the person intimately so they can not only treat the addiction, but also address any underlying factors that may contribute to the disease.
For more information about how Fusion Recovery is helping individuals experiencing addiction and the community, at large, visit www.fusionrecovery.com or call 866-506-2783.
Baumann decided to change that. He began working with a group of therapists to develop a unique approach to recovery, one that was comprehensive in treating the whole person and dedicated to long-term empowerment, compassion, and recovery. Now, Baumann has poured 21 years of research and work in the industry into Fusion Recovery, an outpatient treatment facility in Albany that uses evidence-based methods to give people with substance use disorder a second chance at a healthy and fulfilling life.
"Nobody becomes an addict in one day; nobody gets sober in one day. But no one wanted anything to do with people actually getting better"
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