Important Announcements

Nondiscrimination Policy Update

Boston Medical Center Health System complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency and primary language), religion, culture, physical or mental disabilities, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression. BMCHS provides free aids and services to people with disabilities and free language services to people whose primary language is not English.

To read our full Nondiscrimination Statement, click here.

Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT)


617.414.4107

Our office has moved to the 5th floor of the Crosstown Building located at 801 Massachusetts Avenue. We are no longer located in the Shapiro Building.

Boston Medical Center’s Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) Program was established in 2003 and currently serves over 800 patients, making it the largest hospital-based addiction treatment program in New England. The OBAT team treats patients with approved medications for substance use disorders including buprenorphine, injectable buprenorphine, injectable naltrexone, and oral naltrexone. Patients receive specialized treatment for their substance use disorder integrated within a primary care setting, allowing all their medical needs to be addressed by a team of providers. The OBAT Program has been recognized nationally and replicated within many outpatient settings, including primary care, family medicine, behavioral health, and OB/Gyn practices, among others.

Click here for resources and virtual supports during COVID-19 pandemic

Derrek Anderson speaks about how the program helped him end 30 years of heroin use.

 

Contact Us

Crosstown Center
801 Massachusetts Ave Boston, MA 02119
5th Floor, Suite 5C
Crosstown Center 617.414.4107

Monday - Tuesday 8:00 AM - 7:30 PM; Wednesday 9:00 AM - 7:30PM; Thursday 8:00AM – 5:30PM; Friday 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Treatments & Services

The BMC OBAT Program provides the following services to patients:
  • Family Medicine Center 
  • Addiction Psychiatry Treatment Program 
  • Center for Addiction Treatment for AdoLescent/Young adults who use SubsTances (CATALYST) 
  • Treatment for all types of substance use disorders, including opioid, alcohol, benzodiazepine, and stimulant use disorders
  • Trained addiction experts including nurses, physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, psychiatrists, patient care coordinators, medical assistants, and recovery coaches
  • Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD): buprenorphine (Suboxone), injectable buprenorphine (Sublocade), and naltrexone (Vivitrol, Revia)
  • Same-day medication access
  • Direct telephone access to the nursing team
  • Compassionate and non-judgmental care
  • Harm reduction services and resources
  • Specialized services to justice-involved individuals, adolescents, pregnant and post-partum women, and those with brain injuries
  • Assistance accessing social supports and other benefits (e.g., food, IDs, employment, insurance)
  • Behavioral health and psychiatric services
  • Access to short- and long-term birth control
  • Screening and treatment options for HIV, hepatitis A, B, and C, and sexually transmitted infections (STI)    
  • Overdose education and access to naloxone (Narcan)

Our Team

Leadership Team

Colleen Labelle, MSN, RN-BC, CARN
Program Director

Emily Hurstak, MD, MPH, MAS
Medical Director

Lexie Bergeron, MPH, LCSW
Director of Operations

Provider Resources

Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance (TTA)

The Grayken TTA provides education, support, and capacity building to community health centers, clinicians, social service providers, harm reduction specialists, families and more. Our training and technical assistance focuses on serving the Commonwealth, and has reached an international audience, training more than 25,000 individuals annually. Our trainings share best practices on caring for patients with substance use disorders, with the goal of expanding access and improving the quality of lifesaving, evidence-based treatment.

Research Overview

Office-Based Addiction Treatment Retention and Mortality Among People Experiencing Homelessness - Fine DR, Lewis E, Weinstock K, Wright J, Gaeta JM, Baggett TP. [published correction appears in JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Aug 2;4(8):e2128112]. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(3):e210477. Published 2021 Mar 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0477

Tapering off and returning to buprenorphine maintenance in a primary care Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) program. - Weinstein ZM, Gryczynski G, Cheng DM, et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018;189:166-171. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.05.010

Addiction Nursing Competencies: A Comprehensive Toolkit for the Addictions Nurse - Wason K, Potter A, Alves J, et al. . J Nurs Adm. 2021;51(9):424-429. doi:10.1097/NNA.0000000000001041

Residency and Fellowship Information

Addiction Medicine Fellowship

The mission of the Grayken Fellowship in Addiction Medicine is to train physician addiction medicine leaders in clinical care, research, education, public health, and advocacy to improve addiction care for people vulnerable to health inequities due to race, ethnicity, gender, poverty, age, disability or stigmatizing illness.

The Grayken Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program is a 1 or 2 year fellowship. There is also a 3-year combined Infectious Disease-Addiction Medicine Fellowship and a 2-year Fellowship in Maternal Health Addiction. Fellows are mentored by our multidisciplinary faculty from Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Addiction Psychiatry. The Grayken Fellowship in Addiction Medicine is accredited by the ACGME. Click here to learn more