Breaking the Stigma: Catie Caggiano’s Four Point Project on Addiction Treatment

The summer entering her junior year at Gould, she applied to a volunteer program at Boston Medical Center. Due to Covid restrictions, she couldn’t work in person but instead zoomed into sessions for eight weeks hearing from doctors, nurses, and people in various roles at the facility. The purpose was to expose students to all facets of the healthcare industry while getting them twenty volunteer hours. Here, she first met Dr. Emily Hurstak, a primary care physician focused on addiction medicine.

Dr. Hurstak’s work resonated with Catie, so she asked for additional opportunities to learn. She not only was able to shadow Dr. Hurstak but was able to work in three different clinics within the Boston Medical Center.

“I immediately wanted to work at Boston Medical Center,” said Catie. “It’s a ‘safety net hospital,’ which means they treat patients regardless of their health insurance or ability to pay. Because of this, you treat a wide range of patients.”

Catie worked in three clinics organized by the community they serve. SOFAR (Supporting Our Families through Addiction and Recovery) is a clinic within pediatrics that serves adults in recovery and their children; OBAT (Office Based Addiction Treatment) is an addiction treatment program that helps over 800 patients at a time, the largest of its kind in New England; and CATALYST (Center for Addiction Treatment for AdoLescent/Young adults who use SubsTances) is for teens and adolescents fighting addiction.

In addition to working with Dr. Hurstak at OBAT, she shadowed Dr. Sarah Bagley at the CATALYST clinic, observing young adults close to her age. One thing both physicians impressed upon her is that patient care includes a lot more than just physicians. Each clinic employs social workers, patient care navigators, and nurses that interact with each patient.

“Holistic care involves many healthcare workers. Dr. Hurstak explained to me how nurses are the ones who see patients regularly and get to know them on a deeper level. It takes a lot of different roles to serve patients, and I appreciated their outlook that no one is more important than anyone else.”

Each day she saw all levels of addiction. Some patients required heavy doses of the controversial drug Fentanyl. Some needed methadone, while others were prescribed lower doses of Buprenorphine as part of a long-term recovery program. She witnessed every side of addiction and observed firsthand the consequences and how many people are affected by one person’s dependence on substances.

Catie is quick to point out that there is no typical situation or person who struggles with addiction. It can happen to anyone, and you can’t predict someone’s struggles just by looking at them.

“There is such a stigma surrounding addiction,” says Catie. “The stereotype you think of when imagining an addict is far from reality. The people I met in the clinics were human. I never would have guessed they were dealing with a substance abuse disorder. What drew me to addiction medicine was working to remove that stigma.”

One final piece of advice that Catie had for rising seniors when she presented her Four Point project at assembly was that you don’t need connections to make your plan come to fruition.

“It’s ok if you don’t have a connection in the industry you want to explore,” says Catie. “I just googled programs and called and emailed until I got my desired answers. You have to be a little bit annoying.”

Catie is a highly motivated and driven student. Next year she will study in the University of Michigan’s Biology Health and Society program. She will continue learning about addiction in Michigan’s highly competitive undergraduate research program. She’ll be paired with a research mentor and professor and assigned a science research project in her area of interest.

She plans to apply to the School of Public Health during her sophomore year, as it’s intended for juniors and seniors.

“My senior four point project introduced me to what it means to be a doctor, and I tested out several potential paths I could take in an MD program, like research, clinical practice, and advocacy,” says Catie. “I wouldn’t have gotten into the program or the school without gaining those valuable experiences.”