Justin Alves Receives BUMG APP Excellence Award
Justin Alves, a clinical nurse educator with the Grayken Center for Addiction, recently received the Advanced Practice Provider Excellence Award from the Boston University Medical Group. In addition to his role at the Grayken Center for Addiction, Mr. Alves is an Assistant Professor in the Section of General Internal Medicine and a primary care provider at the BMC Family Medicine Clinic for patients with substance user disorders and HIV.
“Patients regularly tell us that Justin is the reason for their care engagement, consistency in substance use recovery, and regained trust in the healthcare system,” wrote Justin’s colleagues in their nomination. “We have witnessed his extraordinary dedication in countless ways, always remaining true to the mission of providing unbiased, evidence-based, best practice care to patients with complex histories of trauma.”
BMC shared a brief Q&A with Mr. Alves, highlighting the passion and motivations behind his excellent care:
What do you enjoy about working at BMC?
There is truly something special about working at BMC. Our ability as a system to center the most vulnerable patients makes it a unique and rewarding place to work.
What does “excellence in care” mean to you?
It means really listening to your patients and their needs and trying to meet those needs in a way that is amenable and appropriate for them. It’s all about delivering for folx in a way where they feel seen, heard, and cared for by their team.
How is BMC pushing the boundaries of care?
BMC is a national leader in providing addiction care. We are fortunate to have a first-of-its-kind clinic to treat stimulant use disorders, called the Stimulant Treatment and Recovery Team (START). It’s a model that builds upon other innovative models at BMC and delivers care for folx who have long been left out by more traditional addiction treatment programs.
What is “rewriting healthcare”?
Rewriting healthcare means that we really need to take a step back from our traditional playbook. If our goal is to build equitable systems of care, we need to start building systems for the most vulnerable people. If we build our systems for people with the most barriers and struggles, we will not only engage them, but we will also make an easier system for all of us to access care.
Congratulations to Justin Alves!