Q: Why are dogs being used at Brighton Center for Recovery?
A: Canine detection is being used to help us keep our campus safe. Ours is an open campus that has hundreds of people coming into our buildings each week. We know that the vast majority are coming to the campus for the right reasons and are invested in helping to support our patients as they deal with their addictive disorder. We also know that a few do not have that same regard. We have decided to take this new step in order to better detect situations that we feel pose a threat to the safety of others.

Q: What are the dogs looking for, what can they detect?
A: The dogs are trained to identify a variety of things that the staff of Brighton feels could place patients and/or staff in danger.

Q: Are the dogs aggressive, and are they trained to attack people?
A: No. The dogs are specifically trained in detection, and are not here for any other reason. The dogs are friendly, but they are also here to do their job, so we expect staff, patients, and visitors to maintain minimal contact with the dogs while they are here to sweep our buildings and grounds. A trained handler as well as a member of the BCR staff will always accompany the dogs.

Q: Whom will the dogs be searching?
A: The sweeps the dogs do will include areas in which visitors are present, and many sweeps will be done at times when visitors are on the campus. The dogs are very sensitive in their detections and are trained to identify things that an individual, be it a patient, a visitor, or a staff person, has in their possession that would be considered dangerous. Since Brighton Center for Recovery is private property, it reserves the right to address this type of situation and to ask any visitor to leave the campus any time. This will be done if it is determined an individual may pose a danger to the facility and/or to keep the campus free from illegal or unwanted substances.

Brighton, Mich. – Brighton Center for Recovery has named Dr. Jeffrey Berger as its new medical director. He will assume these responsibilities in early September. Dr. Berger is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine, where he also completed a residency in internal medicine. He is certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine and has been a member of the Brighton Center for Recovery active medical staff since 1998.

“Brighton Center for Recovery is extremely fortunate to attract someone the caliber of Dr. Berger to this leadership position. He has a strong commitment to the field of addiction treatment and recovery,” says Dan McCormick, president, Brighton Center for Recovery.

In addition to his work at Brighton Center for Recovery, Dr. Berger has worked with the Henry Ford Maplegrove Center, a chemical dependency treatment facility. He has lectured in the region on topics pertaining to addiction and recovery.

Dr. Berger assumes the role of medical director at a very exciting time in the history of Brighton Center for Recovery as well as the field of addiction treatment and recovery. The need for quality treatment and recovery services continues to escalate here in Michigan and nationally. The demand for services at Brighton has never been stronger. Best practices in the field continue to evolve and Brighton continues to be at the forefront of responding to these challenges.

Dr. Berger resides in Howell with his wife and the two youngest of their six children.

Brighton Center for Recovery, a member of St. John Providence Health System, was founded in 1950 and continues to be a standard-bearer and innovator in chemical dependency treatment based on the medical model and 12-step program participation. Brighton Center for Recovery is fully licensed and accredited by the Joint Commission and is staffed by addiction-medicine physicians and addiction-credentialed clinicians.

For the latest news and information surrounding Brighton Center for Recovery, check out current and past issues of the “Brighton Beacon” newsletter, as well as our latest press releases.