What’s new at North Suffolk? 
North Suffolk achieved approval as a DSS Family Network provider and will be offering a number of programs for children and families referred by DSS.  The agency was also awarded a DMH contract to provide Respite services in the Northeast Area.  Our Strengthening Families Program is growing in Revere, Chelsea and Charlestown.  The agency partnered with the Institute for Health and Recovery and Dimmock on two projects to build our capacity to provide substance abuse assessment and treatment services for adolescents.  North Suffolk also now provides a substance abuse counselor at MGH’s health center at Revere High School.  The Revere Counseling Center is now open on Tuesdays and the East Boston Counseling Center now has Saturday clinic hours.  MBHP has approved North Suffolk as a Community Support Program provider and that program is under development. 

Health insurance has been at the forefront of the news for months.  It seems evident that the entire health insurance system in our society will change over the next few years.  The cost of healthcare and health insurance continues to spiral upward and the trends of the last few years are not sustainable by any business.  One of the agency’s major initiatives this year was to review and restructure our employee benefits package.  Providing a benefits program that is responsive to employees’ interests and priorities and that truly “benefits” them was the goal.  The issues are complex and the solutions are elusive.  North Suffolk is making a transition toward consumer-directed health plans that give each employee more choice, flexibility and responsibility in their healthcare decisions.  The agency continues to provide competitive health insurance plans with a generous agency premium contribution.   Among other things, the new benefits package, introduced in May, 2006, offers participating employees an agency match to their 403(b) plan.