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Stephanie Lamancusa is a dedicated professional with a wealth of experience in the field of mental health and addiction treatment. Currently serving as the Executive Director at Pinnacle Treatment Centers, Inc. based in Vineland, New Jersey, Stephanie has been instrumental in shaping the organization’s mission towards providing comprehensive psychotherapy and family therapy services. With over five years of tenure in this role, she has exhibited exemplary leadership skills while overseeing various aspects of clinical operations.
Prior to her current position, Stephanie held several key roles, including Interim Clinical Supervisor and Grant Program Supervisor, where she honed her expertise in clinical supervision and program management. Her commitment to improving mental health services led her to assume responsibilities as an Outpatient Therapist at A Better Tomorrow Counseling Services, where she continues to make a positive impact. Additionally, Stephanie serves as a Clinical Supervisor at Motivo Health, further contributing to the development of mental health professionals.
Stephanie’s journey in the mental health sector began as a Substance Abuse Counselor at Maryville Addiction Treatment Center, followed by a supervisory role at The Cumberland County Guidance Center. Through her diverse experiences, Stephanie has demonstrated a deep understanding of psychotherapy, family therapy, and leadership, making her a respected figure in the field and a driving force behind the advancement of mental health services in her community.
Pinnacle Treatment Centers, established in 2006, is a leading provider of comprehensive substance use disorder treatment services across nine states in the US. With a commitment to accessibility, Pinnacle offers a range of treatment options tailored to individual needs, including medically-monitored detoxification, residential treatment, outpatient services, and medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, supported by a holistic approach to wellness. Accepting various insurance plans and offering reasonable self-pay rates, Pinnacle aims to make the recovery journey manageable, prioritizing the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being of each individual through a dedicated team of qualified professionals.
Susan: Hello and welcome to the Women’s Roundtable podcast, powered by the Think Factory, where we learn how women think big and grow their business. My name is Susan Kleiner. I’m a partner with Outside General Counsel Solutions, and I am the host of today’s episode. I’m happy to have with me today Stephanie Lamancusa, the Executive Director of Vineland Treatment Center, which is the Pinnacle Treatment Center. Stephanie is also a licensed therapist. Stephanie, it’s so good to have you here today. I’m so honored to have you here. And it’s been a joy getting to know you and hear more about your story. First of all, tell me a little bit about Pinnacle and your position as Executive Director.
Stephanie: Hi, Susan. Thank you for having me. I’m glad to be here. I am the Executive Director of online treatment services with PINNACLE, and I oversee the clinical, medical and financial aspects of an outpatient opioid treatment program utilizing medication assisted treatment. We roughly service 550 patients with a 30 team member staff, and we are one of the fastest growing turnovers within PINNACLE. So we had a really fast growth within two years of the company.
Susan: So you’ve had a lot of patients in the past two years. That’s amazing. So tell me more about your other work.
Stephanie: So I am also a licensed clinician and therapist, and I work at a private practice holding a small caseload that I meet with our clients during the week. And then I also provide outside supervision for individuals that are working towards their licensure in the field.
Susan: So it’s been really interesting for me lately. I don’t know about you, but when I when I’m watching TV or reading books and I feel like now is the point in time where we’re starting to reflect back on the pandemic, you know, where they go back and you can see that they’re living through the pandemic. And I think that that offer, you know, offers us this great opportunity to be reflective. And I think your story and, you know, the growth of the Vineland Treatment Center is actually remarkable. So I want to set this up for the audience and then I want to talk to you some more about it. So your your treatment center opened up March 11, 2019. Right.
Stephanie: Yes.
Susan: And it was the first provider in a 30 to 40 mile radius, correct?
Stephanie: Yes.
Susan: And so we all know that, you know, we have we’re facing this opioid epidemic. I think it’s hit, you know, that area tough just like other parts of New Jersey and the country. So March 11, 2019, you open one year later, almost to the day, you know, pandemic. Yeah. So. So what did you do? How did you survive.
Stephanie: Ultimately, we just had to survive. And with that being said, we had to remain calm and really figure out how to get through it. So as the Executive Director, I had to remain calm for my staff and my patients because at that point, a year later, we had roughly 300 and so clients. So we had to figure out how do we continue to medicate these clients and provide them the clinical treatment to maintain their recovery and their sobriety without stopping? Because the whole world we all thought the world was going to come to a stop for two weeks. We thought it was just going to be two weeks. Right. So, you know, how do we continue this where we’re a very face to face program and we had to continue we didn’t have a choice to stop. So what we did what I had to do was very closely monitor the federal guidelines from the CDC for what was acceptable and, you know, precaution for COVID, while also looking at what the guidelines were for medicated assisted treatment and clinical treatment, and how do we do that safely for the clients and the staff? So we really had to make sure the clients were safe. The staff was safe, and everybody was still getting the treatment and the employment that had to be provided. I think the key part for me was making sure that everybody had open lines of communication, everybody understood what was going on and everybody was getting exactly what they needed.
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