Hazelden Foundation

Community Benefit Report

In meeting Hazelden's commitment to our mission and the underlying charitable purpose of our organization, we invest our time, financial resources and energy helping people and communities understand and address addiction as a treatable disease, and spread the word that recovery is possible. "Be of service" is an integral Hazelden value which we demonstrate in a variety of ways.

Patient Aid
Perhaps the most obvious way Hazelden meets our commitment to the community is by providing treatment services to individuals and families who seek and qualify for care but are unable to pay the full cost. Our patient aid awards totaled $5,589,000 in 2010. Our patient aid policy provides that Hazelden will annually establish a target amount of aid based on our actual net adjusted patient service revenue. Patient aid was awarded in 2010 as follows: 

 
Graduate School of Addiction Studies
The Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies is dedicated to preparing future leaders in addiction counseling through the Master of Arts in Addiction Counseling and the Certificate in Addiction Counseling programs. The school offers a full scholarship each year to a student from Chisago County Health and Human Services. The school also provided approximately 19,000 hours of clinical services by student interns at agencies reaching underserved and economically disadvantaged populations.

Sixty-six students graduated with master degrees from the school in 2010. Ninety-one percent of the class of 2009 who sought careers in the addiction treatment field found employment in their home communities, or at regional or national treatment agencies. Faculty and graduate school leaders speak to local and national audiences on a broad range of addiction, treatment and addiction counseling topics.

Butler Center for Research
The Butler Center for Research is dedicated to improving recovery from addiction by conducting clinical and institutional research, collaborating with other research centers, and communicating scientific findings. It is the center's vision that sustained recovery for all who seek help will be achieved through advancements in knowledge and integration of research into practice. To this end, the staff of the Butler Center for Research conduct research with sound scientific integrity, work to advance innovation and research inquiry, and promote objectivity and data-driven decision-making.

Among the department's many activities in 2010:  

• As part of Hazelden’s commitment to evidence-based practice, over 20 projects were conducted to inform clinical care and academic programming, identify treatment needs, drive data-based decision-making, contribute to outcomes initiatives, and add to the field’s knowledge of addiction treatment.
• The Huss Research Chair on Older Adults is a collaborative initiative that allows Hazelden researchers to partner with leading national experts on projects related to older adults with addiction. The current Huss Research study is examining the effects of naltrexone, an anti-craving agent for alcohol, on treatment outcomes among alcohol dependent adult residential patients. In addition, the study is assessing the degree to which a favorable response to naltrexone is associated with a particular genotype. Over 140 adults were recruited into the study during 2010.
• Additional clinical research projects continued in 2010. Follow-up data collection was completed for a study on the neurobiology of stimulant addiction and recovery among young adults conducted in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Department of Psychiatry and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research. A pilot study examining the effects of recovery-related text messaging on continuing care compliance among young adults in treatment was launched in early 2010 with over 60 participants recruited by year end. In addition, recruitment for a spirituality and recovery study was completed in early 2010 and follow-up assessments are underway. This project examines how changes in gratitude, resentment and self-centeredness are related to spiritual development and set the stage for ongoing recovery.
• Over 32,000 issues of Research Update were disseminated to professionals, educators, students and others. These two-page summaries of scientific findings from the field of addiction treatment research are provided at no cost as a community benefit to policymakers, treatment professionals and the public at large. The issues are now available online for convenient access.
• As part of the Center’s dissemination efforts, three research manuscripts were submitted to peer reviewed addiction journals in the latter half of 2010.
• Helen Pettinati, Ph.D., Director of the Addiction Treatment Research and Medication Development Division at the University of Pennsylvania, was named the 2010 recipient of the Dan Anderson Research Award. Dr. Pettinati is recognized for her study titled, “A double blind, placebo-controlled trial combining sertraline and naltrexone for treating co-occurring depression and alcohol dependence,” published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Professionals in Residence
The Professionals in Residence (PIR) program educates professionals from around the world on the diagnosis and treatment of the disease of addiction. Participants complete an intense one-week program that teaches the latest information and research in the field of addiction treatment and recovery. Participating professionals represent a wide variety of disciplines including medicine, nursing, psychiatry, mental health, professional counseling, family therapy, employee assistance, corrections, clergy and others. In 2010, Hazelden welcomed 253 professionals to our programs which are held in Minnesota, New York and Oregon.

Center for Public Advocacy
In 2010, Hazelden’s Center for Public Advocacy focused on building greater public understanding of addiction and shaping public policy that supports treatment and recovery.

• Key efforts included advocating for robust regulatory implementation of the new federal “parity” law, which expands access to treatment through private health care insurance, and preparing for full realization of the new law. The “Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act” ends discrimination by insurance companies against people who need addiction treatment. The Center for Public Advocacy participated in drafting guidelines for the new law and continues to monitor implementation and advocate for favorable interpretations of these regulations.
• The Center produced a brochure to educate consumers about the impact of the law on their health care coverage and distributed it widely to all Hazelden facilities, incoming patients and prospective clients. In conjunction with the Parity Implementation Coalition, the Center produced an online “toolkit” to help people understand and access their rights under the new law.
• Federal health care reform was also a key focus of the Center’s efforts. Working with other treatment providers, Hazelden ensured that addiction to alcohol and other drugs was included as a covered illness in the “essential benefits package” under the new health care reform law. The Center has been very active in helping to define the benefit, advising Marvin D. Seppala, MD, chief medical officer of Hazelden, who serves on a key SAMHSA advisory panel on residential treatment. Promoting awareness of the benefits for addiction consumers and providers in the new health care law is an ongoing priority.
• In Minnesota, Hazelden launched a project to improve highway safety at a dangerous intersection leading to the main campus in Center City. Over the years, people have been killed or injured in several accidents at this intersection. The Center brought the issue to key state and federal policy leaders, and steps were taken to address the problem although a permanent solution remains elusive. And Hazelden has played a leading role with state lawmakers in making the case for the efficacy and cost-effective of substance abuse treatment in these tight budgetary times.
• Throughout 2010, the Center’s William C. Moyers spoke to national conventions, state trade associations, local civic and education groups and gatherings of people in recovery about the importance of standing up and speaking out for treatment and recovery. In 2010, Moyers and the Center also engaged the news media in this effort, serving as a key media contact on a wide variety of policy issues and being featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide. In addition, Moyers authors a weekly syndicated column, “Beyond Addiction,” that is distributed nationally. Dean Peterson, former chief of staff to retired Congressman Jim Ramstad joined the Center in 2010 and has been an energetic presence on behalf of Hazelden and the wider treatment community in both Washington and Minnesota.
• Under the direction of the Hazelden Speakers Bureau, 39 employees presented to more than 8,677 attendees at 101 events in 16 states on a broad range of subjects including drug trends, prevention, treatment advances and co-occurring disorders. This includes more than 1,200 people who attended Hazelden’s Women Healing conferences in four cities. Another 402 people attended Youth Forums in the Twin Cities.

Community Relations Services
Through its community relations services, the Hazelden Visitors Program in Center City scheduled and conducted 92 tours for 613 individuals. Volunteers at facilities in Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Oregon and Florida donated 12,724 hours valued at $265,295.
Educational scholarships from Hazelden were awarded totaling $5,200 to students at six high schools in the Twin Cities and the surrounding Center City area.
Hazelden continues its involvement with the Partnership for a Drug-Free Chisago County, providing expertise from staff, hosting meetings and allowing staff to serve on the organization’s board. Hazelden also donated training and implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program to the Chisago Lakes Area Schools.

Publishing
Hazelden publishes curricula, resources and professional development tools for preventing, treating and managing addiction and related disorders. Translating research into practice, Hazelden is the leading publisher of evidence-based alcohol and other drug addiction prevention and treatment curricula. With 46 new releases in 2010, Hazelden publications continued to provide inspiration, guidance and encouragement in the lives of millions around the world every day. Hazelden also produced 186 electronic books, and five daily meditation applications for iPhone and five for Android in 2010. Much of this material would not be published and available to consumers if it were not produced and distributed by Hazelden as part of its mission because of its limited appeal to mainstream publishers. Publishing materials also go to underserved populations, including many customers in the community treatment, faith-based and corrections markets.

In 2010, through its BookAid program, Hazelden sent 4,997 packages of products reaching the lives of over 200,000 people through 87 libraries serving programs and institutions in need. BookAid resources were sent to individuals and organizations around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, Columbia, Mexico, Uganda, Canada, Mongolia and South Africa. The retail cost of the BookAid items totaled $479,128.

Web site
Hazelden's main website, hazelden.org, launched a redesign in 2010 and recorded 3.5 million visits in 2010. In addition to its main site, Hazelden offered targeted websites that provide in-depth information on the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and cooccurring disorders. Two sites were also built to support awareness campaigns intended to build recognition of Hazelden as a thought leader. Hazelden’s presence in social media on the web began in earnest in 2010 with the launch of a social networking site for people in recovery and another site for families struggling with a loved one’s addiction. In 2010, Hazelden also began reaching out via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linked In.

Resource Center
In 2010, a total of 174,000 calls and 9,475 online inquiries were received by Hazelden’s Resource Center from people seeking information, assistance and products related to addiction issues. Part of the Resource Center’s work is connecting people with the help they need, including products, services and free informational publications. For those in need of resources beyond what Hazelden provides, the Resource Center searches its database of more than 30,000 agencies to locate other possible assistance.

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Locations 

• Center City, MN
• Chicago, IL 
• Maple Grove, MN
• Naples, FL
• New York, NY
• Newberg, OR
• Plymouth, MN
• St. Paul, MN