Susan Axelrod

Review of Baymark health services

5 Stars for Liberty Bay Recovery Center in Portlan...

5 Stars for Liberty Bay Recovery Center in Portland, Maine. 0 Stars for parent company BayMark Health Services (I couldn't post without adding at least 1 star).

My son's excellent experience at Liberty Bay got him on the track to recovery, and for that I will be forever grateful. The staff was amazing! Ten months later he is living in a sober house and going back to school full time.

But it is terribly disappointing that the HR department at BayMark decided to rescind a job offer at Liberty Bay on the basis of his non-violent drug conviction, which my son is very upfront about. He was excited to land the job as an admin at the front desk, especially because the hours dovetailed with his school schedule. He received an official offer letter, went through the required drug and TB testing, and was waiting to start work when BayMark's HR department let him know they were rescinding the offer and why.

Pleading guilty to the drug charges gave him the opportunity to go to rehab at Liberty Bay. Not only is BayMark's shortsighted decision incongruous with their supposed mission of helping people recover, it reinforces the stigma against people with substance abuse disorder. While employers around the country are discovering that to support employees in recovery is good for business, BayMark, which is IN the recovery business, doesn't get it.