For Immediate Release
South Shore Mental Health Rebrands as “Aspire Health Alliance”
New Name Reflects Focus on Integrated Care, Community Partnerships
QUINCY, MA – South Shore Mental Health announced today that it is rebranding to “Aspire Health Alliance” to reflect its focus on integrating mental and physical health, reducing the stigma associated with behavioral health disorders, and creating alliances with community providers.
“Aspire Health Alliance is more than our new name,” said Antony Sheehan, President and CEO of Aspire Health Alliance. “Fundamentally, it reflects our ambition for a system that eliminates the disconnect between mental and physical care, and our belief in the power of community partnerships to deliver care at the optimal place and time.”
“Changing the system begins with changing the conversation – and we are endeavoring to do exactly that with our new name,” he added.
“Placing mental health at the core of overall health is exactly what we want to achieve in the Commonwealth,” said Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. “It is our responsibility to ensure that when we speak about health care, it encompasses all of health – physical, behavioral and oral.”
The prevalence of behavioral health disorders in Massachusetts is at an all-time high. Studies show nearly one million Massachusetts adults (one in five people) live with a behavioral health disorder, with the number climbing by 4 percent a year. However, access to treatment has been constrained by a system that can be fragmented, disconnected from medical care, and stigmatizing.
Evidence shows that early intervention and a continuum of available care have a positive and concrete impact on an individual’s ability to address and overcome behavioral health issues.
Aspire Health Alliance is helping to pioneer a new approach to behavioral health, providing a range of care that is proactive, coordinated, integrated with medical care, and available through multiple access points, including emergency rooms, police departments, jails, schools and places of employment, as well as through Aspire Health Alliance-trained first responders providing “mental health first aid”.
“We aspire to a clear ambition around emotional well-being as a part of everyone’s well-being,” said Sheehan. “We live by the saying, ‘No health without mental health.’”
About Aspire Health Alliance
Founded in 1926, Aspire Health Alliance is a private, non-profit behavioral health agency, providing services for children, teens, and adults experiencing serious emotional challenges, behavioral issues, and substance abuse. Continuing to evolve to meet the needs of the community, Aspire Health Alliance provides services that assist people in acquiring and maintaining the physical, mental, and social skills needed to function most effectively in the community.