Sheriff’s Office Honors Duffy Health Center For Treatment Partnership

Barnstable County Sheriff Jim Cummings (L) presents Heidi Nelson, the CEO of Duffy Health Center, with a citation in recognition of the Vivitrol program partnership between the two organizations

Barnstable County Sheriff Jim Cummings (L) presents Heidi Nelson, the CEO of Duffy Health Center, with a citation in recognition of the Vivitrol program partnership between the two organizations.

HYANNIS – The partnership between the Duffy Health Center and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office was highlighted at a ceremony Thursday morning, where staff workers were honored for their work in helping released inmates cope with addiction.

Duffy works with the Sheriff’s Office to provide Vivitrol treatment to former inmates, as part of the opiate-blocking treatment initiative that was implemented in the jail in 2012.

“We actually started offering Vivitrol as an option at the urging of the Sheriff’s Office because they were starting to use Vivitrol in the jail and they needed places to refer people to out in the community,” said Duffy Health Center CEO Heidi Nelson. “It was a big leap for us to take that on, but we did and it’s been a great partnership.”

“The relationship that we have with our community partners is one of the reasons the programs being run in the jail have been so successful,” said Barnstable County Sheriff Jim Cummings. “We’ve found that it’s pretty easy for our folks to get sober and stay sober and drug-free while they’re in the correctional facility, but the hard part comes when they go back into the community.”

The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office was one of the first in the nation to implement the Vivitrol treatment program. Cummings says that 50 percent of the inmates who receive Vivitrol treatments have remained drug-free.

Cummings presented Duffy staff members with a citation in appreciation of their partnership. The plaque reads:

Be it known that this office hereby extends congratulations to Duffy Health Center in recognition of Duffy Health Center’s partnership with the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office to provide treatment and service for chronically homeless inmates upon release from incarceration.

By MATT MCCARTHY, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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