Thanks to a gift from Tigger House Foundation, a counselor will be on call in the emergency department seven days a week
Heroin and opiate addiction are raging in New Jersey, and Riverview Medical Center is taking a new step to fight the fire.
Thanks to a gift of $120,000 from the Monmouth County-based nonprofit Tigger House Foundation, an addictions counselor position will be added to the Red Bank hospital’s emergency department. A licensed chemical dependency counselor would be on call seven days a week to work with those in need at the Alton A. Hovnanian Emergency Care Center.
“The addiction epidemic in New Jersey, and specifically Monmouth County, cannot be ignored,” Timothy J. Hogan, president of Riverview Medical Center and Bayshore Community Hospital, said in a statement. “The generosity of the Tigger House Foundation will impact so many in our immediate community who turn to Riverview for care.”
Tigger House was founded by Middletown residents Lisa and Rick Stavola in 2013 after their 25-year-old son Rick Jr. (whose nickname was Tigger) died of a heroin overdose. In an interview with the Asbury Park Press last year, the Stavolas explained how emergency rooms were ill-equipped to deal with the recovery part of drug addiction. The nonprofit raised its profile by adding former New York Giants defensive lineman Christian Peter, a Middletown native, to its foundation board.
"That’s what Tigger House is all about: the public awareness and being able to supplement the recovery through donations," Rick Stavola said.
The Tigger House Foundation is holding a major fundraiser, A Night Under the Stars, Oct. 1 at the Edgewater Beach and Cabana Club. To learn more about the event or the nonprofit, visit www.tiggerhouse.org.
For more on supporting behavioral health services at Riverview Medical Center, contact Jennifer Smith, senior executive director, at 732-751-5115 or JenniferL.Smith@hackensackmeridian.org.
Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.