Clinical News January

Meet the Director of Outpatient Services— Dr. Mariana Izraelson

Dr.Izraelson joined Ashley in May 2015 as the Director of Outpatient Services with years of clinical and managerial experience in the outpatient and addiction setting. Prior to arriving at Ashley and helping to pioneer the Ashley Outpatient Program, she managed State Care Coordination, Maryland Recovery Net, and Women and Children programs for Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County, as the Director of Recovery Care Services for HealthCare Access Maryland. Through her professional roles over the past ten years, Dr. Izraelson has strengthened her knowledge of professional procedures, research, and understanding of a myriad of evidence-based substance abuse treatment program deliveries.

Dr. Izraelson is dedicated to providing high-quality public health prevention and intervention services to at-risk populations. As a clinician and program director, she developed skills in working with clients who had multiple health and social needs including substance-use and mental health disorders. Serving this population provided her with direct experience addressing substance-use disorders during pregnancy as well as the unique concerns that affect pregnant women while in recovery.

At Ashley’s first IOP location at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health in Bel Air, Maryland, Dr. Izraelson involved Ashley Outpatient Program with Project Healthy Delivery for the Harford County Office on Drug Control Policy. The project allows pregnant women suffering from addiction to receive quality care and an individualized plan— at no cost to them— in an effort to minimize the impact of their addiction prior to giving birth. Donations of baby items including clothes, diapers, toys, bottles and more are delivered to the Bel Air IOP and used to help encourage women to remain in treatment.

Since opening the Bel Air location in August of 2015, Dr. Izraelson is proud to say that the IOP program has seen a completion rate of 65 to 75 percent— a rarity in the field. The second location of the Ashley Outpatient Program in Elkton, Maryland opened in December of 2016 and Dr. Izraelson is confident that it will be as successful as the Bel Air location. “We are reaching out to the community as a whole to be able to serve them and help more people suffering from substance use disorder. Ashley Addiction Treatment has a legacy. We strive to provide the best care possible using integrated, innovative, evidence-based therapy,” says Dr. Izraelson.

Dr. Izraelson has a Doctorate Degree in Psychology from Argosy University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from University of Maryland Baltimore County and is a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association, American Society of Addiction Medicine, and the Psychologists for Social Responsibility Association.

Grand Opening Event for the Ashley Outpatient Program in Elkton

On Tuesday, January 24, Ashley Addiction Treatment celebrated the grand opening of our newest Intensive Outpatient Program at Union Hospital in Elkton, Maryland. Although the program had a soft opening on December 12th and was recently featured in the Cecil Whig — the January 24th event was an open house to the community to celebrate and learn more about the program.

Official Ribbon Cutting (from left to right: Marc Butler, Fr. Mark Hushen, Dr. Rick Szumel, Dr. Mariana Izraelson, Ken Collins, Rod Kornrumpf)

Executives from Ashley and Union Hospital spoke at the event in regards to the partnership. Ashley President, Fr. Mark Hushen stated, “Our goal is to bring comprehensive care in an atmosphere of awakening, providing treatment that is individualized, integrated and innovative.”

Ashley President, Fr. Mark Hushen speaking to event guests

Director of Cecil County Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center, Ken Collins, talked about the harsh impact the opioid epidemic has had on the community and the essential need Ashley is providing for an inclusive program with quality care. “I think Ashley has a long legacy of success and a proven reputation for providing treatment excellence,” said Collins.

Ken Collins, Director of Cecil County Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center, speaking to crowd

Dr. Mariana Izraelson, Director of Outpatient Programs for Ashley Addiction Treatment said, “We’re invested, we care and we believe in recovery, more than you will ever know. What we want is to identify what is the best care for that particular patient. We offer them integrated, innovative, evidence-based therapy to really help them feel better to go back to life and to focus on recovery.” Dr. Izraelson also noted that Ashley’s first outpatient program in Bel Air, Maryland has seen a completion rate of 65 to 75 percent— which is extraordinary and very uncommon in the field.

Director of Outpatient Programs, Dr. Mariana Izraelson

The program will be able to treat up to 150 patients at the Elkton location and offers detoxification, medication-assisted treatment, group therapy, and individual therapy and accepts private insurance and medical assistance.

Group Therapy Room in Elkton

“It is with a great deal of pride that we’re able to offer services of such an esteemed organization as Ashley to our community, but it is also with a sense of duty and responsibility that we have for the health of our community,” said Union Hospital CEO Dr. Rick Szumel.