Recovery Centers of America lands experienced CEO
Recovery Centers of America (RCA) has hired Adam Brickner MPA as chief executive officer of its new 140-bed addiction treatment center located on Billingsley Road in Waldorf. The facility treats individuals and works with families throughout the Southern Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia areas.
Recovery Centers of America is a community-based provider of addiction treatment services that offers individualized, evidence-based care for a range of alcohol and drug addictions. The center provides patients 18 years and older with initial and ongoing services that includes intervention, medically-monitored detoxification, residential and outpatient treatment, recovery management, alumni programming, and family education and therapy services.
Brickner brings over 30 years of leadership experience to RCA in the development and implementation of programs for individuals affected by substance use disorders. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Clemson University, studied executive leadership at University of Maryland College Park and received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
“He has lengthy experience in our field,” said Scott Weisenberger, vice president of clinical services for RCA, on the selection of Brickner to his new position. “He’s a good blend of both business and clinical … he’s very passionate about Recovery Centers of America, but, more importantly, doing important work to help stem the tide of the opioid epidemic.”
Most recently, Brickner served as executive director of the Phoenix Center located in Greenville, S.C., where he oversaw and expanded the agency’s addiction treatment programs. While there, he founded The Family Effect, a nonprofit organization established to raise funds for the Phoenix Center’s services.
Prior to his employment at the Phoenix Center, Brickner served as CEO of Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, where he managed a $50 million yearly budget and coordinated the distribution of funds to providers across Baltimore City for addiction treatment services.
Brickner also worked as director of the drug court in Denver, Colo., and was later hired to direct operations at the mayor’s office of drug strategy in Denver, where he worked with local organizations to create a program to provide housing and treatment for homeless young adults suffering from substance use disorders.
“What attracted me to this position was RCA’s commitment to this neighborhood model, this connection with people,” Brickner said regarding his new role as CEO of RCA’s Waldorf facility. “Trying to use a big company like RCA, but to make it a ver y personal experience for individuals.”
“Ever yone at RCA has a passion for this work at the corporate level. They are doing everything in their power to help people get into recover y,” he said.
“They did a 24-hour hotline, this 1-800-RECOVERY number. They’ll pick up the phone within 10 seconds, and if you qualify for treatment, they will come and get you if needed,” he added. “They will send a car … within an hour or two of making that phone call, you could be in a car going to a facility, a very nice facility like this one.”
Once an individual enters treatment, Brickner said RCA looks to maintain a connection with the patient that continues after treatment has ended.
“The model is that you’ll go to a medical detox, then you’ll go to a residential treatment program,” Brickner said. “It’s individualized, but it’s a 28-day program, and then you’ll step down into outpatient treatment.”
“So our model is that we try to stay connected to a person for about 90 days. Twenty-eight days residential and another 60 days in outpatient,” he said. “And then we’ll even follow up with them after that outpatient is over. So we try to stay connected with a person for up to two years if possible.”
Brickner said RCA also encourages the active involvement of family to help the patient through the process of recovery.
“We recognize that we have to engage the family from the day that they’re here, through this process, that it is a commitment by all of that person’s loved ones to help them on this journey of recovery,” Brickner said.
“We do family activities during the week on Wednesday nights and on the weekends on Saturdays, and sometimes on Sunday as well,” he said. “We want the families to be engaged in this process in a very intimate level.”
Going forward, Brickner said he plans to grow RCA’S outreach to the community by working with the health department, law enforcement, first responders, school districts, social services and other local organizations that have contact with people who are in need of the facility’s help.
“We’re pretty comprehensive. We’re very excited about that. We think that we offer a full spectrum of services,” he said. “So, we’re going to do everything in our power to meet the client where they are and help them on this journey to recovery.”
“To help 1 million people get into recovery is the vision of RCA,” Brickner said.
For more information on Recovery Centers of America and services the center provides, go to www.recoverycentersofamerica.com.