PITTSFIELD,Mass. — Local medication-assisted treatment provider SaVida Health celebrated its relocation with a ribbon cutting on Monday morning.

 

The opioid addiction treatment center has moved from its previous location on Summer Street to 184 North St., across from the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center.

 

The larger, centrally located space improves the center's accessibility for its patients due to its close proximity to the bus station and public parking, SaVida implementation manager Zoe Lewis said. The revamped space is also more comfortable with better patient flow. 

 

"We are thrilled to move into a larger, purpose-built location in Pittsfield. We have proudly served this community for many years and we will continue our work to support those on the road to recovery," President and Chief Operating Officer Jenifer Salamino said. 

 

"We have a wonderful team of dedicated professionals that have successfully helped so many individuals struggling with substance abuse. We look forward to continuing to serve Pittsfield and its neighboring communities for many years to come." 

 

The location has four provider rooms and three telehealth rooms. In addition to that there is a meditation room that patients can visit without an appointment. 

 

The center offers a variety of services including onsite counseling, community outreach and support, medication assisted treatment, medication management for individuals with both mental and substance use diagnosis, and telehealth services. 

 

SaVida treats "addiction as a chronic disease, not a personal weakness," according to its website. It works to heal the whole person "through respectful, compassionate and effective treatment."

 

Their methods are designed to help patients deal with obstacles in their life whether it's housing, child care, transportation, or other barriers so that the patients can focus on recovery. 

 

There's a huge need for centers like this, so, the more people SaVida can offer its services to, the better, nurse practitioner Candice Smith said. 

 

"We're hoping that now that we're centrally located right on the main street that more people will come to us for care and just be able to help more people than we do now," said Melissa Peck, operations and special projects manager. 

 

In 2020, Berkshire County was ranked 12 out of 14 in health outcomes for opioid use disorder (OUD) and had the highest rate of OUD in the commonwealth, with a conservative estimated rate of 6.06 percent.

 

SaVida received a $20,000 grant from Boston Medical Center's Healing Communities Initiative to help fight opioid use disorders. Both Pittsfield and North Adams are participating in the initiative. 

 

With the funding, it implemented a contingency management program that awards patients after each appointment with a range of prizes.

 

Patients draw slips from a fish bowl that determines a prize size of small, medium or large. The prizes range from everyday necessities, snacks, and keychains with recovery sayings.

 

In 2010, SaVida opened in West Springfield and Pittsfield as the Experience Wellness Center. It was renamed SaVida in 2017. 

 

Since then it has grown to 50 centers in seven states serving more than 7,000 patients and is still growing, Salamino said. 

 

Savida has two locations in Berkshire County, Pittsfield and in the Ambulatory Care Center in North Adams on the hospital campus. 

 

Teton Management Corp. has managed the North Adams location for the last two to three years and also currently manages the Pittsfield building. 

 

When Teton Management  took over the management of 184 North St. in the summer of 2021, the space was "totally blank" with no lights, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, nothing, Teton's Director of Asset Management Andrew Consolati said. 

 

"So, it's been a lot. It's been a team effort and when we wanted to start looking for a tenant to take up this space we wanted a larger tenant that could provide help downtown," Consolati said. The company had built a good relationship with SaVida in North Adams. 

 

"I think Pittsfield is definitely a good place for SaVida and we wanted to make sure it was a good mix with the other tenants here so it was just a perfect fit."