Leading Health Care Providers Join Forces to Address Need for Comprehensive Chemical Dependency Treatment Resources in Harford County and Surrounding Area

HAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND (April 1, 2015) —Ashley Addiction Treatment and University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health today announced plans to establish the Ashley Outpatient Treatment Center, an intensive outpatient program to treat drug- and alcohol-use disorders in Harford County and the surrounding area.

The new program will be located in the Klein Ambulatory Care Center at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air. It will be staffed and operated by Father Martin’s Ashley in space leased from the hospital. It is the first collaboration of its kind by the two health care organizations.

The Ashley Outpatient Treatment Center is scheduled to open this summer.

The new program will provide outpatient treatment services to address a range of substance abuse disorders, including alcohol and drug addiction as well as prescription pain medication dependence that can lead to heroin use and overdose.“Ashley Addiction Treatment has provided inpatient addiction treatment services for more than 32 years at our facility in Havre de Grace. We are pleased to join with University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center to provide intensive outpatient addiction treatment services in Harford County and the surrounding region,” said Fr. Mark Hushen, O.S.F.S., president and CEO for Ashley Addiction Treatment. “The services available at the Ashley Outpatient Treatment Center combined with our successful program at our inpatient facility will offer a full range of treatment options to reverse our region’s alarming addiction trends. It will also establish a continuum of care vital to helping those who suffer with addiction achieve recovery and remain healthy.”Lyle Sheldon, president and CEO of University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, said, “We are happy to work with Ashley Addiction Treatment, which shares our deep commitment to the health and wellness of our community.” He added, “We’ve found that drug and alcohol use is a contributing factor for many patients’ repeat medical and emergency department visits. The Ashley Outpatient Treatment Center will help break the cycle of addiction and relapse by giving people convenient access to a robust outpatient treatment program provided by a well-known leader in the field.”