Culture Is Why I Joined Green Hill – by Marcus Shumate

I am currently writing this entry from the comfort of my home office. That strikes me as an odd sentence to write; I never envisioned myself as the “home office” sort of fella. I am almost one month into this new career path and I think I may have finally gotten some footing so it seems like now would be a good time to reflect further on what pulled me to join the Green Hill team. 

Clinical work in recovery and after-care settings is unique in that you can really feel as though you are joining a client’s family system in some capacity for a short period of time. When this happens, it is natural to feel some allegiance to the client and family that can make referring them to a different program, at least for me, an anxiety-provoking experience.  But that said, I was uniquely interested in Green Hill as a referring clinician from my first meeting with their staff. It was truly exciting to make my first few referrals to them. 

Almost immediately, I found my anxiety alleviated by the amount of thought and care Green Hill put into building individual “scaffolding” around each client we referred to them. The anxiety was further removed by watching those same clients begin to flourish.  We loved hearing the positive feedback from the clients and their families about Green Hill. 

On a personal level, I knew from my first meeting with Tripp Johnson and some of the other members of the team that we shared a lot of mutual interests. Some of these interests were podcasts, books, and contemplative practices; but the interests were also things more intrinsic. I recognized a deep interest for innovation, curiosity, and willingness to “live on the cusp of failure.”

The early interactions with Green Hill offered an opportunity for serendipitous conversations with Tripp and others at Green Hill that continue to this day. I got to watch from outside the Green Hill leadership team innovate and build clinical models with which I was deeply aligned. I have long found it curious that the substance use treatment field has such little risk tolerance when it comes to helping young adults in addiction and mental health treatment. No one arrives in our care because they are having their best moment or making the best decisions. As such, I think we as a field tend to focus entirely too much on “symptom-reduction” in the form of chasing silly power struggles. I believe this has the unfortunate effect of defocusing on helping a client truly flourish and limits the ability to help a client achieve something truly meaningful.  

The clinical model at Green Hill is totally focused on helping a client achieve his respective goals and start to explore paths of deep meaning and substance. It is not simply about being sober. That part, while difficult, is doable.

The part that is really tough is figuring out how to build a life filled with passion, curiosity, and meaning. The fact that Green Hill is in downtown Raleigh, NC and surrounded by career and educational opportunities is a reflection that it is not simply about “symptom-reduction.” The clinical model is designed to help a client explore and develop his passions and curiosities that can provide a lifetime of meaning. 

Leaving my former place of employment was a remarkably difficult decision for me. I loved the team that I worked with. We spent years building close relationships that were a daily source of enjoyment and laughter for me. Yet, when the opportunity to join Green Hill became an option, I could not resist. At the end of the day, there was just too much alignment and too much opportunity for personal and professional growth. I am a big believer in the significant personal growth that can happen through a developed professional culture.

Before I joined, I sensed a chance for growth at Green Hill. Now that I am on the inside, I have experienced a culture that exists all the way from clients to the leadership team, and which is focused on flourishing –  personally and professionally. I am excited about all that the culture of Green Hill can bring to me, and those that we serve. 

And if you couldn’t tell, my favorite co-worker is equally excited about getting into the work.

Green Hill Announces Joint Commission Accreditation

Joint Commission grants accreditation to Green Hill’s transitional living and clinical programs!

Green Hill is excited to announce it has earned a Gold Seal of Approval® for both its clinical and transitional living operations Accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The accreditation and certification received from the Joint Commission is recognized nationwide as a gold seal of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain national performance, quality, and safety standards. When an individual or family works with an accredited healthcare organization they are making the decision to receive the highest quality of care.

During the accreditation process, the Green Hill team was subjected to intense, thorough review by Joint Commission officials. The objectives of this survey are to evaluate the organization using standards concerning performance and care and to provide education on best practices that will help staff continually improve the organization’s performance. These standards are developed in consultation with health care providers, measurement experts, and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess, and improve performance. 

“Our initial plan was to have our clinical operations surveyed and accredited; however, when the Joint Commission surveyor arrived and learned that we operated a transitional living facility, he insisted it be surveyed,” recounts Nick Slovak, Executive Director of Green Hill. “Nick called me to say that the surveyor was going to go to our transitional living facility. He was a little nervous because we hadn’t intended on having it surveyed, but I assured him that his hard work and that of the team would shine through, and it did,” says Tripp Johnson, CEO of Green Hill. This recognition by the Joint Commission is a true testament to the passion and dedication to excellence of the entire Green Hill team. Our organization is honored to earn the Gold Seal of Approval® and looks forward to providing the highest standard of care for years to come.