GCASA Cares

2nd annual Red Ribbon Week Fashion show on Saturday, 10/22/11, 6:30 PM

2011-10-10T15:28:00.000-04:00

GCASA staff getting the hang of drumming with Jeff Mann on 09/20/09

2011-10-06T07:00:00.001-04:00

James Brown tells it like is was

2011-10-05T12:24:00.000-04:00

Of all the books I have read about addiction over the years two of the books that impressed me the most and I am most grateful for are Los Angeles Diaries and This River by James Brown. I highly recommend the books and James Brown's work for a drug free America

Social Media Sites May Reveal Information About Problem Drinking Among College Students

2011-10-05T07:00:00.001-04:00

ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2011) — Social media websites, such as Facebook and MySpace, may reveal information that could identify underage college students who may be at risk for problem drinking, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

For more information click here.

GCASA closes on Knights of Columbus building in Albion

2011-10-04T13:24:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, October 3, 2011 GCASA became the official owner of the Knights of Columbus building at 249 East Avenue in Albion, NY which will be the home of GCASA's Orleans County treatment and prevention services.

The remodeling will begin in late November or early December 2011 with a hoped for completion by June 1, 2012.

Ralph Wilson Stadium goes smoke free

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

From the Smoke Free NOW Community Newsletter, September, 2011.

Click on image to enlarge for easier reading.

Dr. Charles King discusses prescription drug abuse

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

This interview occurred on September 24, 2008

What's going on at Genesee County Mental Health Clinic

2011-09-25T07:00:00.001-04:00

Update from MICA/Trauma task force meeting minutes of 08/26/11

Gen. Co. Mental Health Services: Jeff Hyde said that the addition of 2 nurse practitioners has allowed their clinic to see folks much sooner.

Domestic Violence group has started. Joyce Davis and Andrew Loeb screen potential participants and run the groups which started last Tuesday. Cost is $20.00 a session. At present, mostly males are participating. Individuals must complete Domestic Violence Groups before they go on to anger management group (run by Mark Burgess).

Mental Health is looking to hire one more therapist.

GCASA's budget down slightly for 2012 from 2011 at $4.3 million as compared to 4.5 million

2011-09-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

Every year for the last several years GCASA, in spite of increasing productivity and good outcomes has experience a slow decline in support from the counties of Genesee, Orleans, United Way, health insurance reimbursement, Stop DWI funds, etc.

In 2012, the total agency budget is forecast to be $4,333,888.00 down from $4,502,363.00 in 2011, a change of 3.7%.

In 2010 GCASA's budget was $4,374,581, in 2009 $4,456,462.00 and in 2008
4,378,300.00

So GCASA's budget has stabilized around $4.4 million for the last 4 years. This is good agency performance in times of shrinking public and non-profit dollars. GCASA's stability is due to excellent management and exemplary productivity and performance by staff.

GCASA's outcomes and customer satisfaction exceed benchmarks with other similar agencies in New York State.

Calling All Artists for submissions for GCASA Art Show

2011-09-23T07:00:00.003-04:00

Medical Director Succession planning

2011-09-22T14:04:00.001-04:00

As most of you are already aware Dr King has taken a position with a medical group in Toronto Canada. He and his family will be re-locating to Toronto in October and his last official day of work will be September 28th, 2011. He will remain on staff through November 1st, 2011, closing with his patients and consulting with the new medical director. Dr King has been a stable force behind the development of the Opiate treatment services of GCASA. His guidance and leadership has helped make GCASA one of the premier programs in the region. He has touched the lives of hundreds of patients and their families over his six years with GCASA. His commitment to working with addicted patients and their families was evident in all of his actions as medical director. He will be sorely missed by everyone.

Dr. Credi, a long term resident of Batavia will be replacing Dr king as the medical director of GCASA. Dr Credi is a general surgeon with a strong commitment to family, has close community ties, and has an avid interest in sports and film making. His empathic, ethical style of practicing medicine will lend itself to working with addicted patients. We are thankful for his willingness to accept the position of medical director at GCASA. Dr. Baker, who has more than 25 years in addiction medicine has offered to work as a consultant during the transition, as Dr Credi works on his suboxone certification. Dr. Baker originally had a long term family medicine practice in Leroy New York. Since his retirement from his family practice, he has worked as the medical director of Hope Haven. Dr. Baker’s knowledge of addiction and his collaborative team approach will be an asset to GCACA during this time of transition.

John Bennett
Director of Treatment and Residential Services
Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc.
430 East Main Street
Batavia, New York 14020
(585)815-1849

Kim Corcoran, GCASA's Director of Human Resources, describes succession plan for Executive Director who is retiring on 12/23/11

2011-09-22T07:00:00.003-04:00

Richard Lawrence, RN, GCASA Coordinator of Senior Spice describes activity of making care packages for the troops for holidays, 2011

2011-09-21T07:00:00.002-04:00

GCASA's 2 programs, S.U.P.A. and Senior Spice join together for program to support our troops

2011-09-20T14:32:00.000-04:00

The members of S.U.P.A.(Students United For Postive Action) and Senior Spice, in a joint venture, will be assembling and mailing to our troops overseas Christmas/ Chanukah care packages by November 9, 2011.

Here is where you come in…..we need a name…” Operation…………..”? C’mon think of a good name and if you’re the winner….a $25 gift certificate and, more importantly, the thanks of a GI. Send your suggestions to Richard Lawrence at the address below by 09/28/11, Wednesday, by 5:00 PM.

We also will accept financial contributions up to November 8, 2011 for items for the care packages. Make your check out to GCASA Senior Spice Care Packages.

Thanks for your ideas for a name and contributions for this project.

Dick Lawrence, RN
Senior Spice Coordinator
430 East Main Street
Batavia, NY 14020
Phone 585-815-1865
Fax 585-343-9622
email : rlawrence@gcasa.org

Good bye open house for Dr. Charles King at GCASA on Monday, 09/26/11, 4:00-5:30 PM

2011-09-20T14:01:00.001-04:00

Editor's note: Dr. King began working at GCASA as Medical Director on November 1, 2005. He is beloved and highly esteemed by staff and patients alike.

GCASA Cares resumes publishing with its Fall, 2011 season beginning today.

2011-09-20T13:08:00.000-04:00

Today we will be resuming daily articles on GCASA Cares.

We miss Dan Crofts who left GCASA on August 3, 2011 and who had been writing for GCASA Cares.

I will be taking over as the primary blogger as I was before Dan took on the duty. Hopefully, I will be joined by other bloggers who will contribute and perhaps take over when I retire in December.

So stay tuned for your daily dose of GCASA Cares.

Good-Bye Post

2011-08-03T15:05:00.011-04:00

As today is my last day working at GCASA, I wanted to take this opportunity to post one last time. I would like to extend a sincere thank-you to GCASA Executive Director David Markham, who graciously invited me to contribute to the blog almost a year ago.

Additionally, I am grateful for the wide range of experience I have gained working for this organization. GCASA's Prevention team consists of truly wonderful people who are passionate about and excellent at what they do. Any community would be lucky to have such a crew in their midst.

Genesee County Drug Free Communities Coalition and Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coaltion are two of what I have come to consider the "best-kept secrets" of GCASA. All communities should have the advantage of a coalition that engages the talents, passions and resources of all community sectors, as these do.

I will close with at "shout-out" to my co-worker and friend, Tom Talbot, who is one of the many well-rounded people working here. Tom is an avid reader and has a blog called "Tom's Book Pages," where he reviews his latest reads and offers suggestions for your own reading pleasure. Check it out!

AP Video: "US Stops Cocaine-filled Submersible"

2011-08-02T10:31:00.002-04:00

Response to a reflection on Amy Winehouse

2011-07-27T08:30:00.024-04:00

British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse died four days ago at the age of 27. She had been struggling with drug and alcohol addiction for some time. The star's troubles were well-known to the public, due to the the volume of media and paparazzi coverage.

The author of an opinion piece recently published on Yahoo! News presented a thought-provoking question -- a question, in fact, that was also the title of the piece: "Remembering Amy Winehouse: Will addiction overshadow talent?"

Well, will it?

I can't say that I know very much about Amy Winehouse, having never listened to her music. Still, I can appreciate the question. To me, it opens up an even wider field of inquiry -- one that deals with general societal attitudes and norms regarding drug and alcohol addictions.

Few of us would seriously deny that there is a stigma toward substance abuse in our society. And, of course, their should be; but I would venture to say that equally few of us tend to recognize the concurrent stigma toward substance abusers.

It's not my intention to excuse people who abuse drugs and alcohol. One must make the choice to start using (except, perhaps, in the cases of infants who are born with the consequences of their parents' addictions), and people must want to change their lives. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that while this is certainly possible, it's not anywhere near as simple as we would have it.

Dr. Gabor Maté, in his book "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction," writes about Dr. William Stewart Halsted, a major pioneer of modern surgery. Halsted's time predates the War on Drugs, which took off in the early part of the 20th century. Halsted, according to Maté, "was an opiate addict for over forty years." During those forty years, "he did stellar and innovative work at Johns Hopkins University, where he was one of the four founding physicians."

Please don't misunderstand me: Neither I nor Dr. Maté are suggesting that Dr. Halsted was able to do such great work because of his addiction. That's not the point. Rather, this example shows that drug addicts can make meaningful contributions to society if they are not shunned, stigmatized and maligned.

What I wonder is this: How many people knew about Dr. Halsted's addiction? Surely it could not have been the subject of media frenzy. Contrast this with Amy Winehouse and others, whose forays into substance abuse and/or struggles with addiction are clearly in the public eye, and whose addictions come to define who they are. Let's face it: Once addictions become publicized, people don't forget. Whatever contributions stars make to the entertainment industry (or elsewhere, for that matter), it seems they are doomed to be the butt of crude humor, criticism, and derogatory slurs ("junkie," "drunk," etc).

We don't want to hold or encourage positive or lax attitudes toward substance abuse, and I do hope that Winehouse's unfortunate death serves as a warning to young people about the very real dangers of drugs and alcohol. At the same time, we shouldn't foster attitudes that label those who struggle with addictions unredeemably evil and/or "messed up." This can only exacerbate and keep them trapped in the troublesome behaviors into which they have fallen.

Hard to imagine anything more counterproductive than that, isn't it?

To read the Yahoo! News opinion piece, click here.

Smoke Free NOW Coordinator scores victory at Batavia City Council meeting

2011-07-12T08:50:00.008-04:00

This picture was taken by Nick Serrata and published in The Daily News around 8:41 this morning. It accompanies Joanne Beck's article, "Council bans smoking in city parks."

Our own Kevin Keenan presented a compelling argument for a smoking ban in all city parks at last night's City Council meeting. Partly as a result of the efforts of Smoke Free NOW, the smoking ban has been enacted.

For more details, click here.

22-year-old woman hospitalized after 5-Hour Energy overdose

2011-07-06T10:15:00.008-04:00

Well, we all knew caffeine could be addictive; furthermore, we all know that energy drinks carry some significant risks. But who would have thought that a 22-year-old woman would contract acute hepatitis from the popular beverage, 5-Hour Energy?

This was reported in the June 22 edition of the Journal of Medical Case Reports, and covered by msnbc.com contributor Bill Briggs in the article, "5-Hour Energy binge lands woman in hospital."

Granted, this woman consumed 10 bottles per day. Most of us would agree that this constitutes overkill. But extreme cases like this do offer a vivid illustration of the need to exercise caution.

Another interesting point made in Briggs' article was this: According to nutritionist Joy Bauer,
“The ‘lift’ (these energy drinks) give you comes from caffeine (. . .) The high doses of B vitamins and amino acids they dump in are purely for glitz and glam -- they don’t actually help you instantly perk up."

That said, reflective soul that I am, I feel the need to comment on a societal phenomenon that I see behind the whole energy drink craze. Right at the beginning of his article, Briggs makes the following statement: "For many of us who march in the sleep-starved army that is the American workforce, it’s as critical to our survival as air, food, and bad reality TV: Caffeine. Beloved, energizing, career-preserving caffeine."

Not a few commentators on the history of modern Western society have expressed concern about the modern workforce consisting of "drones" who are overworked and housed within professional environments that, albeit unintentionally, seem to regard them more of as means toward production and profit, rather than as human beings aiming to reach individual and collective fulfillment (on that note, see the May 16 post on Bart Dentino's workplace-oriented program).

Perhaps the phenomenon of energy drink overdose is one manifestation of this situation coming back to bite us in the neck. But that's just my speculation -- I'll get off my soapbox now.

To read Briggs' full article, click here.

NOTE: The above image was published along with the article; no source is credited.

Senior Prevention Educator represents GCASA at annual 4th of July 'Picnic in the Park!'

2011-07-05T15:47:00.008-04:00

This photo was published, along with the article "Many perks at GoArt!'s 'Picnic in the Park' this year, including author from Bethany," at 3:41 p.m. today on The Batavian.

Dick Lawrence, our new "Senior Spice" coordinator and senior citizen prevention educator, was at "Picnic in the Park," an annual event showcasing local organizations and providing 4th of July entertainment, yesterday.

Dick, who joined us last month, very generously volunteered to represent our organization at this event. From what I understand, he did a great job. A lot of information on our programs was disseminated. Way to go, Dick!

Video on K2 (a.k.a 'Spice')

2011-07-05T09:09:00.001-04:00

GCASA Prevention Educator wins international contest!

2011-06-22T11:11:00.009-04:00

Lisa Barrett, one of our prevention educators, was notified yesterday that she came in first place in the international competition, "Best Original Song." Lisa wrote and performed the winning song, "When You Look at Me," in memory of her nephew, Austin, who lost his battle with cancer just shy of his second birthday.

The folks at GCASA prevention are all very proud of Lisa and her accomplishment. We have confidence that her music will touch the lives of many.

For media coverage, see:

Batavia singer/songwriter has high hopes for very personal song (The Batavian)

Batavian's song reaches final round of contest (The Daily News)

Batavia woman's song wins international contest (The Daily News)

2011 Best Original Song -- "When You Look at Me" by Lisa Barrett (Music News Nashville)

'Reality Check' video: 'If Walls Could Talk'

2011-06-15T08:34:00.001-04:00