By Dan Murphy
St. John’s Riverside Hospital (SJRH) operates one of the largest and most comprehensive behavioral health systems in the state. Recently, Assistant Vice President for Outpatient Services Sherlon Quarless spoke with us about SJRH’s behavioral health services and how they can help patients with substance use disorders.
Quarless began her career as a nurse’s aide at St. John Riverside Hospital, later returning to school to attain two master’s degrees in both social work and public administration. She then worked as a social worker and clinical supervisor before becoming Assistant Vice President for Outpatient Services.
Quarless became passionate about addiction treatment after realizing her own mother was an alcoholic. She grew up in Barbados, where she says heavy drinking was normalized, but she began to see the toll addiction could take after moving to New York.
“My mother was an alcoholic. But I didn’t know that until I got here and realized that drinking wasn’t normal,” she explains. “It wasn’t what people do. Because back there, everybody did it. I saw the changes, the life with my mom, and the things that happened, but I never really understood until I got here. And then there was no treatment there because it’s what everybody does, right? So, when I was a nurse’s aide, and I listened to the stories and saw the behaviors, I was like, ‘ Wow. ‘ That’s when it clicked for me—my mom was an alcoholic.”
In her role overseeing multiple outpatient services, Quarless says that she is very proud of the SJRH staff and their dedication to helping patients.
“We have an amazing staff, all credentialed,” explains Quarless. “They’re all licensed, and they all come with that drive and passion for our patients. Everyone is very client-centered. They meet the patients where they’re at. And I think that’s the number one thing for a behavioral health program. You have to start with the staff.”
SJRH behavioral health services include the Greenberg Addiction Center in Greenberg, the Archway Center in Mount Vernon, and the Comprehensive Recovery Center, or CRC, in Yonkers. All three centers offer medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, for substance use disorders. Only the CRC offers methadone due to federal restrictions, but options like Suboxone and Vivitrol are available at the other locations.
“With methadone, you have to come to the clinic every day,” says Quarless. “With Suboxone, you can go to your doctor and get a 30-day prescription, and be home. And Vivitrol is administered as a once-monthly shot, so you don’t have to come in every day.”
SJRH professionals work to find the right solutions for each patient. Quarless explains that patients with opioid use disorder typically start on methadone and may be able to move to other options if they are doing well.
“We have to consider homeless people and those who just can’t maintain,” she says. “You have to be doing really well on methadone for the doctor to give you Suboxone, because you have to maintain it. We also have to think about questions like, ‘If I don’t have my own apartment, where am I putting this medication?’ Those are important considerations.”
In addition to MAT, SJRH offers patients support through talk therapy with individual and group options.
“At all of our sites, we do individual sessions,” says Quarless. “We have group sessions. We offer bilingual services because they are very important—especially at our Greenberg location, where there’s a significant Spanish-speaking population. So we offer group and individual sessions in English and Spanish.”
Additionally, telehealth appointments provide more options for patients. “Sometimes, professional people are mandated to get treatment, but depending on the company they work for, they may not be able to go in for inpatient care, and they need to maintain their employment. So for them, telehealth appointments are an option. They also help to maintain privacy.”
Quarless also notes that as she tried to help her mother with alcohol-related medical conditions, she learned more about the causes of addiction. “As I started this journey, I realized that people don’t just drink or they don’t just use drugs. There’s always an underlying issue, right? So then I was going through that with her and helping her to see—you know, this is why people do this.”
Quarless adds that they now have a psychiatric nurse practitioner to assist patients with dual diagnoses, which are common in addiction recovery. “I want to say about 85 percent of our patients have had some dual diagnosis for mental health. It could be depression, for example. We have a psychiatric nurse practitioner who can address dual diagnosis.”
SJRH also works with adolescents, and Quarless says they believe prevention is key. “We partnered with the schools in Yonkers to have sessions with the parents and talk about what to look for, how to know if your child is using, etc.”
Another thing Quarless has learned in her years of working in behavioral health is that relapses are common among people with substance use disorders. “First, we have to understand that relapse is a part of the process. You’ll have many relapses, but you’ll always—and I say always—can recover. Relapse will be a part of your story, but you can come out on the other side.”
More information about SJRH behavioral health services and addiction recovery treatment can be found here.