More than 350-thousand dollars in grant funding will benefit a Saginaw Valley State University supported health clinic in Bay City, but this is no ordinary health clinic.
The Michigan Health Endowment Fund will support SVSU’s goal of establishing a recovery support team at Bay Community Health Clinic in downtown Bay City.
The team will provide support for people aged 60 and older, particularly with addiction recovery.
Kathleen Schachman is the HR Wickes Endowed Chair of Nursing at Saginaw Valley State University. She said the grant is part of the GRACE project which stands for Gaining Recovery in Addictions for Community Elders.
“So in a nutshell it’s really an effort to better treat substance use disorders in an older adult population because this is a group of individuals who do indeed have substance use disorders whether it’s opioids or alcohol, but they’re very much overlooked when we’re talking about the substance use concerns in the community.”
Schachman said the partnership with SVSU allows students to get real life experience in recovery support, as well as other health services provided at the clinic.
She said the new services will begin in January.