My name is Jaclyn. I’m the VP of Marketing at Workit Health.
What is Workit Health?
Workit Health is a telehealth addiction treatment company that you access through our app. You log in, make an appointment, meet with your clinician, and build a treatment plan. If you have co-occurring disorders like anxiety, depression, or insomnia, we can help you with all of those things as well. And then you meet back with us once a month through a Zoom room with other members to talk about your care and make sure that you’re on track.
We keep track of your depression and anxiety scores, and make sure that we talk you through anything that’s going on. Our community of members have forums where they can talk about what they need. Our programs combine the peer support and medical care that you might receive in a rehab, but you get to stay at home. This is huge for people who have a job, kids, or pets.
Did you always know that you wanted to work in online addiction treatment?
No. I came across Workit Health through a LinkedIn post, and that’s when I learned that you could have telehealth for addiction treatment. I never knew that was a thing. I really wanted the job because I’ve lost people to addiction. I think a lot of people have. I lost my first boyfriend, Dave, to an overdose. It was the hardest wake I’ve ever been to.
How did losing him affect you?
He was the first person I had a really close relationship with that I lost to a heroin overdose, but I’ve lost other friends to overdoses. I lost an uncle to alcoholism.
But Dave’s death hit the hardest because bad things shouldn’t happen to good people. It was really hard. It’s still really hard.
He’s the only person out of anyone I’ve lost that I have dreams about. I’ve run into him three times in three separate dreams. He was really special to me. And it messed me up to lose him in this way.
It’s motivated me a lot here at my job. If I can reach somebody and it changes their path and saves them, I’ve done more than I could in past jobs where I basically was doing product sales. Selling an item doesn’t affect people’s lives in the same way as what I do now. Now, if I can make a sale as VP of Marketing for Workit Health, I’m saving somebody.
I think services like Workit Health can be the thing to keep people on track long term, especially at times like leaving rehab, prison, or a halfway house. So I was motivated. If I can do something with my life that’s going to help other people and help other people’s Daves, that’s the kind of job I want to do.
What makes telehealth addiction treatment so different?
Access to care is really important. If you’re living in a city, there are often a lot of resources for addiction treatment, either through the state itself or nonprofits. And you may be able to walk or take a bus or Uber there. But if you’re in a rural area, that’s not really possible. My team have talked with members who were driving two hours out to their appointment and two hours back, once a month. Then they would have to go in for drug screenings that required another office visit. It’s so hard for a regular person with a full-time job, class schedule, or caretaking responsibilities to do that.
Telehealth removes the transportation barrier. You just need a phone or a laptop and an internet connection, and you can have addiction treatment.
I think of Dave every time this comes up, because he never had a car or steady transportation. He was in and out of rehabs. But he always had his phone; that was never a problem. He just didn’t have a car. If he’d had the ability to just meet with somebody online like our members do … I think this could have saved him.
What would you say to people who aren’t sure about trying Workit Health’s online treatment?
If someone’s skeptical about telehealth, I get it. There have been some telehealth companies in the news that didn’t have people’s best interests in mind. To those skeptics, I would say, first, that not all telehealth companies are the same. I can only speak about Workit. This isn’t a pill mill. This isn’t a one-appointment-and-done type of thing. This is a treatment program. This is monthly appointments, regular assessments, and a growing community.
Our members have forums where they discuss their needs, their struggles, and their goals. Members also attend monthly appointments with their providers, a member of the behavioral health team, and other members. So I think our telehealth programs may be quite different from other experiences they may have had, where they go to a single, one-off appointment to get a Suboxone prescription and then never see a provider again.
Second, I would reassure them that there’s no judgment here. A lot of people with substance use disorders are used to feeling judged. They go to a basic clinical appointment, and if they mention that they have an addiction, all of a sudden they can’t have anything other than Tylenol. It’s not like that here. Many people who work on our team are in recovery, and they get it. When we talk to you, we understand who you are. There’s not going to be any judgment passed on you here.
What do you like to do outside of your work at Workit Health?
I don’t do anything but take care of my kid, haha! I love to be outside. That recharges me. I would say I love to read, but I have a toddler, so I listen to a lot of audiobooks.
I’ve got a dog, chickens, a cat, and a fish. I have a lot of animals in my life, and they are important to me. I worked with wolves (as a volunteer) for six years. I got to handle them and raise wolf puppies. It was amazing. I hope to get back there one day. Shout out to Wolf Hollow in Ipswich, Massachusetts, which is an amazing non-profit and home to the closest wolves you’re going to find in New England.
I also have a motorcycle license and a small motorcycle that I drive up and down the coast. That was one of my COVID projects. I learned how to ride horses and how to ride motorcycles.
Why did you decide to share your story?
We have a Creators of Recovery program that our community manager, Max, runs. Through it, we reach out to our members and ask them to tell their stories of addiction and recovery. It’s really eye-opening to see where people came from and where they are now. Not only do the stories themselves give me hope, but also when we share those stories on Facebook or in emails, we can see how many people clicked on that story and then made their own appointment. It’s inspiring to see that stories reach people and show them that there’s help available. I think these stories also help to make addiction recovery less taboo than it used to be. Our members’ stories encouraged me to tell mine.
If you share your story—of finding your recovery, of people you love who recovered or were lost—you’re affecting other people’s future. You could be catching them in the moment when they’re ready to take a step towards their recovery. That gives me hope for others, and inspires me to speak about my own work and loss.