Serenity House Detox & Recovery Staff

I was born in Chicago and moved to S. Florida when I was 3. I am the youngest of 2 children. I grew up in the Ft. Lauderdale area and was a fairly good student, unlike my older brother. I played baseball for 2 years. When my parent got divorced I started following in the footsteps of my older brother, skipping school and smoking pot, and eventually got kicked off the team for fighting. At age 14 I began smoking crack with my older brother and the rest is history. I went to 4 Tx centers before the age of 18. Once I was off of my parents insurance it was jails and state ran facilities. In 2010 I detoxed twice in jail. December 13, 2010 is my sobriety date. I am now married and have 3 children with my lovely wife. I now have a relationship with my other 2 children who were sent to live with their grandparents at birth due to my addiction. I am obviously employed at SHD and have been for the past 8 years. I am blessed beyond words to be where I am today. It is a far cry from where my life was 10 years ago.

 

What is your full name, title, and the location you work out of?

Geoffrey Hyser, Operations Manager for Serenity House Detox & Recovery in Jupiter, Florida.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up mostly in South Florida, in the Ft. Lauderdale, Jupiter area.

Where did you go to school? Collegiate degree? What was your focus of study?

I did a year and a half of Palm Beach Community College studying Business Management. Then I began smoking crack again, and all dreams and aspirations went away. I’m currently working towards a Certified Addiction Counselor certification.

What is your passion for working in the treatment field? (You can share your own recovery story, or you don’t have to disclose).

My passion is to being able to help somebody else see the other side of life that I wasn’t familiar with. I began using at a very young age, and everything went by the wayside very quickly. I’m very familiar with the feelings of desperation, loneliness, and solitude that go along with active addiction. That’s not the way it really is, but that’s how it feels.

At one point I thought I was hopeless and helpless, but I found another way through some good people in my life. If I could help somebody achieve that, it’s meaningful to me.

What do you do for your job? List a few responsibilities.

My job consists of scheduling payroll, making sure that the group and client scheduling goes off without a hitch, ensuring that thee Behavioral Health Technicians are running groups, daily maintenance of the facility.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Interacting with the clients. I enjoy getting out there and running groups sometimes. It’s easy to connect with clients and make them feel like I’m an equal, instead of being somebody with keys and a badge. I enjoy that connection, and I enjoy when I see somebody get a glimmer of hope and express gratitude for what we do.

What do you think sets Amatus apart from other treatment centers?

Their togetherness as an organization. Corporate is in touch with each and every facility; they know employees’ birthdays; they care about training and compliance throughout. They seem to have all their ducks in a row as a big organization.

Anything else you want to include in your bio?

In December 2021 I’ll have 11 years clean. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work in treatment.

My wife and I just had another new baby, so now I have four kids. My first two babies were born crack babies and taken away from us at birth. Now I have children I was actually able to take home from the hospital and raise.

 

What is your full name, title, and the location you work out of?

Nelson Cordero, Medical Director, Serenity House Jupiter

Where did you grow up?

Moca, Puerto Rico

Where did you go to school? Collegiate degree? What was your focus of study?

University of Puerto Rico, Bachelor of Science in Biology and Science (magna cum laude). Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, Doctorate of Medicine. I also completed my residency in psychiatry at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital and am a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

What is your passion for working in the treatment field? (You can share your own recovery story, or you don’t have to disclose)

I have significant acute inpatient and office experience and am passionate about helping patients live their lives to the fullest. I specialize in addiction medicine, and I’m Suboxone certified–to treat opiate addiction; I additionally specialize in treating adults with co-occurring disorders.

Anything else you want to include in your bio?

I have served as Chief of Psychiatry at Broward Health Medical Center since June 2019, and as Vice Chair of Psychiatry at Broward Health Imperial Point since January 2019. I am also a clinical investigator at Research Centers of America.

 

What is your full name, title, and the location you work out of?

Rochelly Giraud, MS, MCAP, Clinical Director at Serenity House Detox & Recovery Palm Beach.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Puerto Rico.

Where did you go to school? Collegiate degree? What was your focus of study?

Nova Southeastern University-Masters in Mental Health Counseling.

What is your passion for working in the treatment field?

I’m passionate about helping others. Spiritual values were instilled in me at a young age, and they still inspire me to help others become the best version of themselves they can be. My desire to help people in need—paired with my drive to succeed—has helped me turn a nontraditional upbringing into empathy for others and personal resilience.

What do you do for your job? List a few responsibilities.

Implement the clinical program for individuals with substance abuse and mental health issues. Audit all current and past charts. Maintain chart compliance for DCF and JCAHO standards. Acquired DCF and JCAHO accreditation. Provide direct supervision of primary therapists and over ten Tech staff. Manage client crisis and provide necessary clinical interventions. Provide individual and group therapy for people in detox and residential 1 level of care. Facilitate clinical staff meetings and supervision. Manage client’s risk assessments and safety

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of my job is witnessing a person who had come in at their worst leave full of hope for a better life.

What do you think sets Amatus apart from other treatment centers?

Amatus Health is trying to break the mold from the old approaches to substance abuse treatment. We use innovative techniques and a holistic approach that sees the entire individual, not just their addiction.