January, 2019
North to Recovery- Winter 2019
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Judi's in Transition
By Judi Bixby
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I'm reflecting on a 33 year career at Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers. It spanned not only time but life, miracles, hope and always more recovery.
I've met amazing people in my career. People dedicated to fighting for the soul of our field, addiction medicine. Fighting for philosophy, for ethics, for parity, for outcomes and quality. People showing up with passion, empathy, and patience. People handing out hope and being a team, a community, a family. People that form an army of spiritual warriors that I have been honored to be part of. These people I will miss.
So what does the future look like for me. Lots of " home" time in SE Alaska, gardening, fishing, and hunting. Lots of time with family, all those grandkids, nieces, and nephews. Most importantly spending time in the rooms and surrounding myself with recovery so that this wonderful life of mine continues.
At Lakeside, Mary Fredericksen will be continuing to work with valued referral sources, keeping them updated during their patient's treatment.
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Celebrating Judi and Dasiy’s many years of Service
working in the field of addiction
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In December, Daisy Edwardson, flew to Kirkland, WA to visit with our staff before she retired in January.
Daisy and Lakeside have a long relationship. She worked for North Slope Borough in Utqiagvik, AK and helped patients get into treatment. We will definitely miss working with Daisy, but will still continue to work with North Slope Borough to get Alaskans the treatment they need.
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Note from the President
by Carl Kester
Alcohol and other mind altering drugs impact the human body, altering the function of the central nervous system. Outside of specific medical conditions, alcohol and addictive drug use is not necessary for health. Abstaining from ingesting drugs is a positive choice for anyone. For those with addiction, abstaining from chemical use is remission from a chronic, progressive, and fatal disease. This disease manifests in significant psychological, social, and spiritual ramifications for the suffering individual and their family. Stopping use is the first step in the healing process. The next step is staying stopped, which is no less of a challenge than the first one.
Understanding the disease of addiction is essential to healing. Recognizing that an addicted person is a sick person with a chance to get well is what drives us at Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers. For 35 years we have acted with the knowledge that we treat a biological disease. We do this with proper assessment, medical care as needed, education, counseling, and a spiritual solution.
Keeping our focus and working together, we can help individuals begin to heal and see families put back together again. As we look at the road ahead, the chemicals may be different, but the disease we battle is the same. We see new opportunities for healing and that fuels our hope for those we serve. We are dedicated to mining our challenges for new information that will make us more effective. Our work towards progress will be unrelenting.
The disease is real, the opportunities are hiding as challenges, and our collective commitment is inspiring.
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Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers Adds New Staff Member
and Additional Services
On January 7, 2019, Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers announced that Ross Finke, LCSW, has accepted the position of Clinical Director. Ross will be responsible for the oversight of their treatment philosophy throughout the continuum of care. He will also lead the development and execution of additional mental health services for their patients and family members. Ross is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been part of the Lakeside family for over 30 years; the last several with a focus on intervention, family education, and patient care.
As Lakeside-Milam develops additional outpatient services to help meet the needs of patients in early recovery, Ross can call on his years of private practice success and the unsurpassed understanding of Lakeside’s treatment philosophy. His experience will enable Lakeside-Milam to identify what they can effectively provide and enhance their relationships in the community.
Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers is dedicated to continuing development and strengthening of their services to increase their effectiveness in putting families back together again.
You can find out more about Ross by visiting Lakeside-Milam’s website:
www.lakesidemilam.com
by contacting us at 800-231-4303.
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Resources
Judi Bixby and Mary Fredericksen offer free consultation and assessments to Alaskans. Get help today by calling us!
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Not close to an AA home group? Away from home frequently? Physically incapable of attending a meeting? We have the solution!
AA from your home. Statewide telephone AA meetings.
Every Monday 5:30pm-6:30pm. To join in, call: (641) 715-3273,
Access code: 243831 *note: this is not a toll free number.*
Grapevine:
www.aagrapevine.org
. Available online and in print, this magazine can help feel connected to the recovery community.
Online Meetings with AA Loners-Internationalists: This is a great opportunity for fisherman and those living remotely to stay connected to recovery. For more information, or to sign up visit:
http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/smf-123_en.pdf
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