How Maree Wacker of Fora Health Treatment & Recovery Is Helping To Battle One of Our Most Serious Epidemics

For me, leadership is setting those goals that no one believes can happen and then making them happen. A great example is our new facility, which opens in September. The facility will focus on whole-person care, treating each patient from a medical and mental health perspective. It will break down barriers to the accessibility of amenities traditionally found in a private-pay facility including a fitness center, outdoor sports court, library, art studio, and therapy gardens. This will enable us to create a greater depth of services and programming, ultimately reaching and treating more people and unite people from different backgrounds in a community of hope and healing.

As a part of our series about “Heroes Of The Addiction Crisis” I had the pleasure of interviewing Maree Wacker, MPP, CEO of Fora Health Treatment & Recovery (previously known as De Paul Treatment Centers).

With more than 25 years experience in nonprofit management, Maree serves as the CEO of Fora Health Treatment & Recovery (previously known as De Paul Treatment Centers), joining the organization in 2014. In her capacity as CEO, she leads over 150 employees across three locations who provide substance use and mental health treatment services to over 2,000 adults, youth, and their families annually. Maree shares leadership with a 12-member Board of Directors for the 40-year-old nonprofit.

Prior to joining Fora Health, Maree served as the Regional CEO for the Cascades Region of the American Red Cross and was appointed by Governor Kitzhaber to the Task Force for implementation of the Oregon Resilience Plan. Throughout her career, she has led major fundraising efforts for the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon and a new Children’s museum of Richmond. She currently serves as Vice President of the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit of your backstory?

Thank you for having me. I’ve been working in addiction treatment at Fora Health Treatment & Recovery since 2014. I’ve been working in nonprofit management for close to three decades and found my way to addiction treatment and recovery after I found out my teenage son was addicted to opioids.

Is there a particular story or incident that inspired you to get involved in your work with opioid and drug addiction?

When my son was in high school, he was active in sports, specifically football, was doing well in school, and was very active and social. As a parent, I thought he was doing great. I had no idea that he had an opioid addiction. I remember one day, when he was 16, he came to me after school and told me his football coaches were going to start drug testing. I didn’t think it was a big deal, it made sense to me. But, then life got real. He told me he knew he wouldn’t pass. I was stunned and confused. That’s when I found out he had been using, to the point that he required residential treatment. As a parent, our job is to keep our kids safe. At that moment, I couldn’t believe I had missed it. Sadly, this is the case for many of our youth who have addiction issues and with the availability of opioids in schools, anyone has access.

Can you explain what brought us to this place? Where did this epidemic come from?

There is a lot of stigma surrounding substance use disorder and addiction. Especially the correlation between addiction and mental health. More often than not, patients that come to us for treatment are experiencing both, often with addiction developing when individuals experience untreated mental health conditions.

Can you describe how your work is making an impact battling this epidemic?

At Fora Health, we believe in treating each person as a human being first. It’s our job to focus on each individual patient’s needs, reducing harm, practicing kindness and non-judgement, and providing the medical treatment necessary for recovery. Treating use disorders and addiction as a health issue and not a moral issue, not only results in decreased relapse incidents but helps reduce the negative stigma associated with addiction.

Wow! Without sharing real names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by your initiative?

I don’t have just one person but rather I see how our patients are impacted by our peer mentors. Peer mentors are employees who have lived experience with addiction. They have been through treatment and now help others working towards sobriety. Every day, they are teaching our patients how to lead fulfilling lives without substances. Not only does it help our patients, but it also continues to fill our peer mentors up, helping them continue with their own journeys. It’s inspiring.

Can you share something about your work that makes you most proud? Is there a particular story or incident that you found most uplifting?

One morning I was walking into work and a gentleman was leaving the building with a bag. I assumed it was a patient who was being discharged, as that generally happened in the mornings. At that same moment, I looked over at the street next to me and saw a woman letting a big dog out of her car. The dog ran straight towards the man, clearly excited to see him. The woman wasn’t far behind, with two small children yelling “daddy”, as they also ran towards the man. I could hear them asking him if he was coming home. It was a very special family reunion. I remember thinking how wonderful that I got to observe this. Our work puts families back together, making them whole. Whether it’s family by blood or friendship, we help people get back to the ones they love and that love them. I carry this with me as a reminder of the life-saving and life-changing work we do.

Can you share three things that the community and society can do to help you address the root of this problem? Can you give some examples?

Understand the resources available to people who are struggling with substance use disorder and need treatment and recovery services.

Don’t judge. Love people — family, friends, co-workers, neighbors — enough to understand that their addiction is not who they are. It does not define them.

Give mental health and addiction providers/agencies the resources needed to care for these patients, to the degree that resources are provided to medical facilities/clinics. Addiction should be looked at and treated as a health condition, not a moral one.

If you had the power to influence legislation, which three laws would you like to see introduced that might help you in your work?

I would like to see more policies that fund all the things that are not traditionally considered addiction care — like housing, employment services, mental health — things that would keep a person sober after treatment. We forget that all of these things go hand-in-hand. If someone is experiencing houselessness and doesn’t have the resources to manage their mental health, or find a job to keep a roof over their head, they may turn to substances. If we can help people meet some of these needs, it will in turn keep them independent, contributing to society, and sober.

I know that this is not easy work. What keeps you going?

The care, itself. I often remind myself about the privilege of leading this team of amazing providers, clinicians, and staff who care so deeply about improving patients’ lives. It keeps me going every day.

Do you have hope that one day this leading cause of death can be defeated?

I have hope that we can continue to do things to mitigate and keep addiction from spiraling people’s lives out of control, leading them down darker paths to support their habits, like criminal behavior. We will never defeat addiction. It’s been here all throughout history. But, if we can make treatments more accessible, especially to more vulnerable and diverse populations who may have less access and engagement in care, we can stay in the fight, helping one person at a time.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

For me, leadership is setting those goals that no one believes can happen and then making them happen. A great example is our new facility, which opens in September. The facility will focus on whole-person care, treating each patient from a medical and mental health perspective. It will break down barriers to the accessibility of amenities traditionally found in a private-pay facility including a fitness center, outdoor sports court, library, art studio, and therapy gardens. This will enable us to create a greater depth of services and programming, ultimately reaching and treating more people and unite people from different backgrounds in a community of hope and healing.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

The need never goes away, especially in trying times like the pandemic.

You will never feel like you’ve done enough.

Finding the financial resources to fund the care you want is difficult.

There will never be enough resources.

You can’t help everyone. Help is dependent on each individual’s motivation to change. Unless they’re ready, it can be challenging to help them.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Addiction and mental health parity. I want addiction and mental health to have equal coverage and equal resources to that of patients receiving medical treatments. I want the healthcare community and general public to think about addiction and mental health the same way we think about physical health. This is especially important in diverse populations, who have the greatest needs for treatment and far less access and engagement in care. I want equal access for all. I want the stigmas to go away. I do see things changing, but we still have a long way to go.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Storms make trees take deeper roots.”

I think of our patients as trees. First, the tree, no matter how formidable, will still face challenges in life. Adversity or storms cause a tree to dig in; they will fail often and fast, their roots may snap or not grow deep enough, but they will learn. My job is to help feed these trees. By providing them the guidance to grow their roots deep, and to steady their trunks, they will ultimately grow strong, green, and beautiful.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.

Oprah, because she is an incredible woman, leader, and example of strength, love, acceptance, kindness, and brilliance. She should be president!

How can our readers follow you on social media?

https://www.facebook.com/DePaulTreatmentCenters

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!