Winter 2009 - Livengrin Foundation

Winter 2009 Vol. V #1
Signs for the times
The perfect illustration of a
“noticeable improvement,” a pair
of new signs on Hulmeville Road
lead visitors to our main campus.
Helping our staff with the unveiling
in October were Bensalem Mayor
Joseph DiGirolamo (second from
right), who lived across the street
from our campus when it had been
farmland during his boyhood, and
our effective state Representative
Gene DiGirolamo (far right).
new year
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A tree glows for the
holidays, and grows for the future
We have shared an emerging partnership with the How to
Save a Life Foundation over the past two years. This Bucks
County-based nonprofit raises funds for people who need
treatment but don’t have the insurance or resources.
HTSAL’s friends provided a holiday tree that we planted in
December in front of the main building at Bensalem. The
tree (to be the centerpiece of a new garden come spring)
was dedicated to the memory of Karl Hottenstein, a young
man who didn’t have access to treatment to fight his addiction, and to the hope we all have for the future generations.
Livengrin Foundation, Bensalem, PA
Levittown ~ Doylestown ~ Fort Washington ~ Northeast Philadelphia ~ Allentown
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Livengrin life Winter 2009
STEADY AT THE WHEEL
A commendation for veteran Director Dick Hartmann
A private, nonprofit organization founded
in 1966, providing inpatient and
outpatient treatment services, education
and counseling to promote recovery from
alcohol and drug addiction
At the helm of most nonprofits and many large companies is the person in the
“chair,” the one with whom the ultimate responsibility lies. Livengrin had the
good fortune to have Richard W. Hartmann steering our Board of Directors,
and thus our policy and operations, from 2002-07.
4833 Hulmeville Road
Bensalem, PA 19020
215-638-5200 800-245-4746
Mr. Hartmann, an attorney with Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads,
began his relationship with Livengrin in the 1970s. He’d met founder Forde
Hansell some years before. In 1985 he joined the Board.
Allentown / Lehigh Valley
610-264-5521
CEO Rick Pine has expressed his gratitude for “Dick’s even-keeled leadership
throughout the turbulent years of the early 2000’s. He helped us to stay
focused on our mission while positioning the organization for the financial
revival we’ve enjoyed the past five years.”
Doylestown / Central Bucks
215-340-1765
Fort Washington / Montgomery Co.
215-540-8301
Levittown / Lower Bucks
215-547-1440
Northeast Philadelphia
215-335-3419
www.livengrin.org
Board of Directors
Eileen M. Bonner, MD Chair
Bernard K. Ciliberto Vice-Chair
Daphne G. Floyd Secretary
Michael D. Chapman Treasurer
Donald A. Billingsley
Rev. Msg. William A. Dombrow
Frank Foley
Anne H. Jewell
George F. West
Richard M. Pine President & CEO
Honorary Directors
Patricia Chapman David R. Johnson*
James M. Stewart*
Richard W. Hartmann*
Hartmann recently recounted one aspect of his experience in the ‘80s as an
illustration of the length of his involvement . A friend who was a young
mother was staying overnight for a week in our co-dependency program, and
Hartmann was helping to take care of the baby. Each night the young lawyer
would drive from the city to our Bensalem campus, bringing the child to his
mother for feeding. That boy, with whom Hartmann remained close, just
graduated from college.
“It’s been a long time, a wonderful experience,” he remembered as his coDirectors gave Hartmann a little send-off in November. “My thinking (was)
to look beyond all the projects, and challenges and difficulties of serving on a
board, and get the job done. You
look at least one life that was
positively changed as a result of
what we’ve done, one life who
looked addiction in the face and
said ‘I win, you lose.’ Then it’s all
worthwhile.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity of
doing it here at Livengrin.”
Richard Hartmann enjoys his final official
Board appearance, with his successor as
chairperson, Dr. Eileen Bonner.
* Emeritus
Livengrin life© is published by
Livengrin Foundation © 2009
Photographs © Keith Mason for
Livengrin 2009 or as noted
The Annual Report of Livengrin
Foundation is available by contacting the
Communications Office.
To receive or discontinue any
Livengrin publication, call or email:
215-638-5200 ext. 146
[email protected]
Life After Livengrin
(#8 in a series)
“I was at Livengrin in June of `94 . With the help of a lot of friends
(and) hundreds of meetings, I have stayed sober over fourteen years. Now
that is beyond my wildest dreams. For the first time since `94, I went back to
Livengrin (last year) for the Ride for Recovery. I ride with a club out of
Lehighton, Last Chance. I just wanted to say hi and thanks… someone told
me while I was at Livengrin to go to meetings (and) that really was the most
important thing . Thank you so much.”
- JB
Livengrin life Winter 2009
A Call To Arms
Some hear the call, other do not. A few who hear it, respond
in the affirmative, others choose to step aside – perhaps for
another chance on another day – “when the time is right”.
I’m talking about volunteerism, and about charity. Our
country – unlike any before or since – was built on the backs
of those who saw what needed to be done – and did it –
creating the greatest social, cultural, economic and political
system in the world. Much of the work done was performed
on a “voluntary” basis – with no compulsion, no paycheck,
no orders…people helping people, and thereby, helping
themselves.
Volunteering and charity are still alive and well in the United
States today. Though tough economic times may make the
task more difficult – the need is often greater.
Livengrin, today, is a thriving, vital nonprofit organization
that helps thousands of people each year experience their
first steps of recovery. Of course, in large part, we owe our
success to those dedicated and caring folks who work here,
and to our diverse community of referral sources who help
our patients get to our front door.
On New Year’s Eve, these alumni were among those who volunteered
during December to visit patients spending a holiday in treatment. We
depend on our alums to share their optimism for better days ahead with
those who (for the moment) have difficulty seeing the future clearly.
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Reflections on our Mission - Richard M. Pine, President & CEO
But a critically important part of our success rests with the
many volunteers who constitute the backbone of who we
are, and what we do. At Livengrin, you’ll find them at our
monthly Board of Directors meetings, helping out in the
Dietary Department, meeting with patients in Detox,
assisting staff with office duties, hosting special activities
for rehab patients, staffing events and fundraisers...and
much more!
What does it take to be a volunteer? Mostly, just the
interest and initiative! For more information, contact us
and we’ll be happy to welcome you to our extended and
growing family!
Happy 2009 to all!
4 Livengrin life Winter 2009
Open house introduces Fort Washington expansion
Our September move to larger offices in Montgomery County brought
us the ability to re-establish our adolescent program and offer a wider
schedule of outpatient services. The ribbon-cutting was followed by
an eye-opening panel discussion about the need for our mission and
programs in the county.
At the ribbon-cutting, program manager Dennis Franklin does the official scissoring, witnessed by (from left) outpatient services director Kathleen Houston,
Curtis Griffin from the Hatboro-Horsham schools, CEO Rick Pine, Ambler Mayor
Bud Wahl, Dickie Noles of the Phillies organization and Montgomery County
administrator Joe Roynan.
The wide, wide world of Clyde...
Every employee at Livengrin rates applause, be they clinical, administrative or support
staff. Yet, every so often, someone comes along that the entire organization agrees is
the epitome of dedication, class and dignity. Clyde Bertram is that guy.
Clyde started as a Foundation counselor in 1995, after an already-long life that included a difficult Canadian childhood, two heart attacks, and experiences in counseling
alcoholics that took him from Indian reservations in Maine to the founding days of
Bucks County’s Good Friends treatment agency.
Well-known to thousands of patients that have passed through our residential program and their families, Bertram “retired” from active duty this fall at the age of 88.
Not that retirement, for Clyde, means resting and golfing. He vows to continue his
public appearances and lectures, investing his stories and skills in the future of recovery, and getting his book Sixty Years an Alcoholic, Fifty Years Without a Drink, in front of
more readers. (It’s available through our patient store!)
Livengrin paid tribute to this remarkable friend after his talk at our December Alumni
Breakfast. We expect him to pop in from his home in Bristol for regular visits.
Livengrin life Winter 2009
Clockwise from upper left: one-time Phillies pitcher
(and current community affairs rep) Dickie Noles talks
with Dennis Deal of Eagleville Hospital and employee
assistance specialist Jack Shirley; an alumnus shares
his passion for recovery with guests; welcoming
remarks outside the new office’s private entrance;
Dennis Franklin with Gary Nightingale and Deborah
Dichter from Mental Health Consultants; Kathy
MacMoran of Keystone Center and Gary Murphy from
Horsham Hospital get a tour from Kathleen Houston
Our panel of officials and observers gave voice to the community’s
need for addiction treatment, particularly for young adults and
teens in those years of exploration and peer pressure. Livengrin is
responding to the call vigorously through program expansion.
At the sold-out December Breakfast, alumni and guests brought in holiday toy donations and
heard Clyde Bertram review his lifetime of accumulated wisdom. Guest Frank Foley, a member of our Board who’s in his 90s (and thus the only one around who can call Clyde a “kid”),
brought some newspaper clippings about local addiction treatment in the “old days.” After
Bertram’s talk, CEO Rick Pine and Diane Womer, Clyde’s ex-supervisor in residential programs, presented him with a portrait autographed by many of his friends and co-workers.
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Livengrin life Winter 2009
Big guns: As more of our strategic plans
move from the drawing board to fruition,
we draw on the many elements of the community that will help achieve our initiatives.
Conferring with key leaders on the state’s
support for Livengrin and addiction treatment: Honorary Livengrin Director Patricia
Chapman with Governor Edward Rendell
and PA Representative Gene DiGirolamo;
Livengrin CEO Rick Pine with PA State
Senator Robert Tomlinson.
Newly-appointed program manager for the Doylestown Counseling
Center, Babette Benham is well-known to treatment professionals
in our region. Experienced in the issues, politics and “ins and outs”
of addiction treatment in Pennsylvania, she came to us from the
Bucks Co. Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence. A social
worker and addictions counselor since 1980, Benham studied at
West Chester State and Temple. We consider ourselves fortunate
to have brought her to our team.
clips
Maria Tormasi received honors for her twenty
years in our dietary department. Certified at
Auburn University and Penn State, Maria became
head of nutritional services in 1995.
At its national conference in October, the International Nurses Society
on Addictions named Dr. William Lorman, our chief clinical officer, as
its President. In his two-year term, Dr. Lorman will be a front-line
advocate for the people and issues in addiction nursing worldwide.
The Livengrin family extends congratulations to Bill as he represents
his profession (and the Foundation) at professional and governmental
conferences and meetings everywhere.
Media Watch
That Clyde Bertram fellow was profiled by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the
Bucks County Courier-Tines, and KYW Newsradio. Right, Bertram is interviewed by the Inquirer’s Gail Shister.
Livengrin began a series of guest appearances on a recovery-themed radio
program on WURD 900AM. Host Derrick Ford is well-known in the region as a behavioral health professional (including a stint on the Livengrin
staff some years back). Heard Wednesday evening at 8PM, the program
(also sponsored by Livengrin) streams worldwide on the Internet. Detox
counselor Larenda Wise and Keith Mason from the Communications office
were Ford’s first guests, and spoke with the host and several callers about the basic themes of Livengrin's mission and wide
scope of services. Family therapist Dana Cohen appeared on Ford’s show on January 14, with other staff scheduled for the
future. (People are also hearing about us in our series of messages on KYW, the most listened-to station in the market.)
Livengrin life Winter 2009
The season of giving: Livengrin annually offers holiday pies to employees as a small
token of gratitude for everyone’s dedication. This year, many passed the goodwill
along by contributing their pies to local food charities. We distributed 75 pies to
three church-based kitchens in lower Bucks Co. Livengrin is grateful to those on the
staff who responded to our invitation to brighten up the holidays for others.
Tracey Edwards and Bobbi McHale (from the billing office in Levittown) assisted with
distribution at Cornwells Methodist; a volunteer from United Christian got a hand
loading up from Renee Unruh (lower right) and Henry Rhodes of our dietary staff;
counselor Dave Alfe visited Love Fellowship Tabernacle.
The local chapter of the Salvation Army
brought meals, gifts and cheer to more than
500 Bucks County families facing difficult
times. To assist in those efforts, we asked
guests at the Alumni Breakfast on Dec. 14 (as well as the staff) to
contribute games, toys and sports gear.
Gina Shay delivered the toy drive’s results to the Salvation Army’s
facility in Levittown. Gina is staff liaison to our volunteer corps
and the Association of Alumni, Family & Friends.
The alumni, through their Tuesday night meetings, also organized
gift baskets to raffle at Gratitude Day in November. Those proceeds were used to purchase gifts for distribution to children of
patients in residence at Livengrin on Christmas.
Boy Scout Paul Baumann, a candidate for the Eagle rank last fall, brought in a
crew for his community service project. Scouts from Bensalem’s Troop 132
(along with some parents) cleared mountains of brush from a section of the
campus along Hulmeville Road. Their efforts provided an attractive (and
safer) section of the woods along our driveway. Other Scouts from the
troop have been here recently for similar projects.
The Bucks County Commissioners recently marked
the early success of the Southern Bucks Community
Center. Our Courtney Jones (second right) from
Admissions was one of the volunteers on the
“vision team” that designed, and now evaluates and
oversees, the Center’s services. Administered by
the advocacy group PRO-ACT, it offers life-skills
training, family services, recovery coaches and other
programs.
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In and Around Livengrin ~ 2009
Ride for Recovery Sunday May 17 Bensalem
The Foundation for
Addiction Recovery
4833 Hulmeville Road
Bensalem, PA 19020
Allentown ~ Doylestown
Fort Washington ~ Levittown
Northeast Philadelphia
800-245-4746
email: [email protected]
Our annual spring tour of the Bucks County countryside (and family picnic) raises
public awareness - and funds for our patient programs. See the box on page 2 of
this publication, or on the website.
Association of Alumni, Family & Friends Tuesdays 7PM Bensalem
Everyone is welcome (not just our own alumni) to these meetings with a 12-step
fellowship format, speakers and great ways to stay connected to recovery.
Shanahan Hall; no RSVP needed.
Volunteer Orientation Saturdays 1PM Bensalem
February 7, March 4, April 11, May 9
Good opportunities to help us fulfill our mission. Office work, event staffing, and
for those in their own recovery, a chance to have an impact on current patients.
Info: call the Alumni Hotline below, or visit www.livengrin.org
www.livengrin.org
Livengrin Foundation, Inc. is recognized by
the Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit
501(c)(3) organization. Official registration
and financial information (Certificate 13708)
may be obtained from the PA Dept. of State
by calling (within PA) 1-800-732-0999.
Registration does not imply endorsement.
INFORMATION LINES: 215-638-5200
Newsletter Request & Public Events ext. 310
Alumni Association & Volunteers ext. 312
Academic & Professional Training ext. 313
Detach and mail
Good Times or Bad, We’re Still Helping
The economic headlines are nothing new to anyone by now. Some have felt a pinch in the wallet, others have seen their retirement
savings lose value, and some have lost jobs. We do everything we can to help people to afford treatment, or make sure that a patient’s
insurance company fulfills its obligations. But there are some folks who have run our of money, time and luck. It is for those that our
Tree of Life Fund provides assistance. Livengrin is being careful with its own financial picture, and we don’t want to have to lessen our
charitable care this year. So we cordially invite you to help us help those who want to recover, to return to family, responsibilities and
the workplace. You can do it with a tax-deductible investment in Livengrin. It will be utilized effectively, to make a difference in
someone’s life ~ thanks!
Name____________________________________ Street__________________________________________
City, State, Zip____________________________________________________________________________
Telephone________________________
E-mail _________________________________________
Gift of $_______ - __ check or __Visa __MC # ____________________________ exp. __/___ security #_______
(3 digits, reverse of card)
Mail to: Livengrin Development, 4833 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA 19020
___ Please record my contribution in memory / honor of ____________________________________
___ I am submitting an additional form from my employer to register a matching gift
___ I'd like to learn more about how I can ensure Livengrin’s future through planned giving or a bequest
___ List as anonymous
Please add your signature here__________________________________