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March 30, 2009

Walking The Walk

Photo/Shaun Tolson Charles J. Faris, president and CEO, Spectrum Health Systems.

Worcester-based Spectrum Health Systems Inc. has tackled substance abuse for almost four decades, and over that period of time, the organization has grown from a single center in Lawrence to an organization offering programs throughout Massachusetts and six states.

At the heart of the growing organization is Charles J. Faris, its president and CEO, who didn’t take the typical path to the chief executive chair. In fact, his first introduction to Spectrum was as a client of the organization’s drug treatment program in the 1970s.

“It motivated me initially,” he said of his own rehab experience that later prepared him for his first role as a clinical supervisor in 1976. “The more I got into this, the more I realized I liked the work and found that I was good at it.”

From Within

And good for it. Faris rose through the organization as it grew. He was promoted to associate executive director in 1979, vice president in 1985, and finally, to president and CEO in 2000. Still, a day does not go by where Faris fails to reflect back on his time working in the clinic. In fact, he makes a point to visit the organization’s clinics at least once a week.

“It gives you an appreciation for the people who have to work in the programs,” he said. It also allows him to stay connected and in touch with those who are there seeking help.

As the need for rehabilitation remains constant, Spectrum Health Systems has continued to grow, slowly expanding outside of Massachusetts to Maine, Rhode Island, Maryland, Georgia, Tennessee and Iowa. As its locations have increased, so have its revenues. It reported $42.7 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. That’s up more than 21 percent from the $35.2 million in revenues the agency reported in 2005.

Faris views his company’s success—and more importantly its business strategy—in a very simplistic fashion.

“It’s replicating a lot of what we’re doing here (in Massachusetts),” he said, “but it’s molding what we do with another state’s culture.”

Beyond that, Spectrum always tries to remain on the cutting edge, he said, but it refuses to stray from field-tested programs. And when it comes to program reviews, Spectrum regularly seeks critical analysis from outside evaluators.

As a standard practice, Spectrum always looks to hire a workforce that’s representative of the community, an approach that allows the organization’s programs to assimilate well in other states. But that sense of community is what Faris believes separates Spectrum from all other rehabilitation programs. Many of the clinicians have overcome substance abuse themselves, he said, and that knowledge helps clients to not only feel comfortable but to stick with the program.

“There’s a shared sense of purpose that sustains your recovery,” he said. “It also helps them (the clients), achieve their recovery.”

He doesn’t mean to imply that his job or what the organization does is easy. Far from it. “It’s a very distrusting part of the population that we’re working with,” Faris said.

Most clients feel like loners, he added, but he also explained that Spectrum’s staff conveys to its clients that they’ve been there, they’ve walked in those shoes, and that they’re going to get through this together.

“Those that can really connect with the community are those that are going to have the best chances for success at a long, sustained recovery,” Faris said.

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