Fredericton Team

Our team believes everyone has a right to health care, housing, dignity and purpose, and that every life is worth saving.

Dr. Sara Davidson, Medical Director In addition to being Medical Director of River Stone Recovery Centre, Dr. Davidson is a primary care provider at the Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre (FDCHC). She has worked with people experiencing barriers to housing, social and economic inclusion since her Family Medicine residency in Hamilton, Ontario. In her primary care practice at FDCHC she developed an innovative group appointment approach to treating addiction. She is a tireless advocate for solutions to the housing crisis in the Fredericton region, including the need to create appropriately supported housing for people living with complicated substance use and mental health disorders. 

She served on an expert advisory group for Health Canada to look at solutions for the unregulated, toxic drug poisoning crisis, and on working groups to help re-envision the Addictions & Mental Health program through the New Brunswick Department of Health. She sits on the Community Action Group on Homelessness for the Fredericton region. She is the Medical Director of the Atlantic Mentorship Network - NB, and Unit Head for the Undergraduate Medical Education Professional Competencies for second year medical students at Dalhousie University.  

Dr. Sara Davidson in our original iOAT room with her favourite patient. 

(Participant photo used with permission, on the condition that he always be referred to as Dr. Davidson's favourite patient.)

Administration 

Michelle Pittman, RN, Clinic Manager While managing River Stone's Fredericton location, Michelle pursued a Master of Nursing degree and has become a Nurse Practitioner. Michelle provides primary care to people who experience barriers to care, such as those we are currently serving with substance use disorder and mental health concerns. Michelle began working with Dr. Davidson in 2017 at FDCHC, where she discovered her passion for addiction medicine and community health. Michelle runs our nurse-led Hepatitis C  treatment program, and sits on national advisory boards regarding nurse-led Hep C initiatives.

Erin Green , Administrative Lead  Erin's welcoming face is often the first one people see when entering the clinic. Erin joined the team in 2023 and was drawn to River Stone for the opportunity to help her community. She quickly became indispensable both to other staff and to patients. Without her administrative and organizational skills and calm presence in the face of what sometimes looks like chaos, everything might just grind to a halt.

Nursing/Support Team

River Stone couldn't function without our team of dedicated, compassionate, highly trained trauma-informed nursing and support team. They understand the complex nature of substance use and work with individual participants to ensure their needs are met. Much of the day-to-day care is provided by Licensed Practical Nurses and Personal Support Workers. 

We're proud of our efficient system we have designed for iOAT delivery where staff work to the peak of their scope of practice. It allows us to treat more patients per prescriber than many other Canadian OAT and iOAT programs, which often have wait lists. We have no wait list, and strive to have people on treatment within the first day or two of engagement. We hope other programs will adopt our model. 

We're also extremely proud of our internationally recognized rapid access nurse-led Hepatitis C (HCV) testing and treatment program and the impact it has had already on people living with Hep C in New Brunswick. 

The participants in iOAT  have the most contact with nursing and support staff, who provide medical assessment and supervision of iOAT dosing. Feedback from iOAT patients makes clear the support, and lack of judgment, they feel from the nurses are important components of their treatment. 

Below are profiles of just a few of our nurses. 

Jody Roberts, LPN: Jody believes in providing non-judgmental and trauma-informed care, accepting others as they are, and meeting them where they are. Prior to her graduation from NBCC Fredericton in 2019, Jody favoured clinical rotations in community nursing, so she jumped at the opportunity to work for River Stone Recovery Centre in August 2020. With a firm belief that everyone has a back-story that leads them to where they are, often with many heart-breaking stories out of their control, Jody wants to be a person participants can rely on.

Jennifer Goodine, LPN: Jennifer graduated from NBCC in 2016 and joined the River Stone team in 2020 after deciding what area of care she felt most passionate about. She prides herself on the compassion that exists at River Stone and is blessed to be part of a team that works together while meeting people where they are to provide help and support.  

Julia Hansen, RN: Julia has been part of the team since River Stone first opened. Julia  has been passionate about working with marginalized communities and people living with substance use disorders for a long time. Growing up in Vancouver, the epicentre of the opioid crisis in Canada, she learned about the strengths and challenges facing the community. Her experience volunteering at the Vancouver Women’s Health Collective in the Downtown Eastside inspired her career in nursing, which began in 2016. She built a relationship with the community River Stone serves while working at the Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre and volunteering with the Out of the Cold Shelters.

Wellness & Empowerment Team

River Stone's Wellness & Empowerment team is the backbone of our clinic's ability to help people stabilize and begin to work through barriers they face. The team includes case managers, peer worker, a program coordinator, and a human services worker. Our team helps participants navigate complicated systems outside of River Stone related to such things as social assistance, housing, corrections, child welfare and healthcare, and assist with any goals and plans participants may have. We have piloted a low barrier employment program call The Works, and look forward to expanding its successes to help even more people build up confidence and find employment.

A few team members are profiled below: 

Hadrian Abbot, LPN, Case Manager: Hadrian came to River Stone as a casual LPN while working full time in the DECH's emergency department. He loved the work at River Stone so much that he joined us full time in 2021. As our case management needs expanded, Hadrian began pitching in and discovered a real talent for working with participants in this capacity. He now splits his week between nursing and case management. He also leads a weekly meditation group for participants. 

Willa Matthews, Housing Coordinator : Willa's wide skill set has allowed her to conduct iOAT supervision, case management, support groups, administrative work, and, most importantly, coordinating housing/housing supports. She strives to meet all clients where they are at and excels at advocating for our community. She strives to see our entire community housed and safe.

Tony Kelly BA (Hons)Research and Development: Tony manages our low barrier employment program, while he designs social and economic inclusion programming for people who are homeless or vulnerably housed and struggling with substance use and/or mental health disorders that have kept them from taking part fully in the broader society. River Stone and our patients benefit tremendously from Tony's energetic dedication to this population and the programming he's developing for and with them.