Gita Blakeney-Saltus is the new regional vice-president of the non-profit addiction treatment centre, Caron Bermuda. She succeeds Gordon Johnson, who oversaw the establishment of Caron Bermuda and now manages the consulting firm Johnson & Associates. The new appointee joins Jennifer Vargesko-Burgess, overseer of the centre's clinical operations.

"We are so proud to welcome Gita as Caron Bermuda moves forward with its mission to serve the community," chairman Rory Gorman said. "She is committed to ensuring that families and their loved ones battling addiction get the access to care they deserve."

At the same time, the chairman extended "sincere and heartfelt appreciation" to Mr. Johnson for his unwavering dedication to supporting recovery in Bermuda, and announced that he would now be joining Caron Bermuda's board of directors.

Mrs. Blakeney-Saltus joins the organisation at a time when it is gearing up for its next phase of service to the community. Since its inception in July 2007, the organisation has provided more than $120,000 in scholarships to 13 Bermudians for residential addiction treatment at Caron facilities in Pennsylvania and Florida.

Going forward, Caron Bermuda will continue to enhance prevention services in the Island. Recently, PRIDE Bermuda sent two staff members, Judith Burgess and Truell Landy, to attend 'Kids of Promise', a Caron-sponsored symposium in Pennsylvania about the impact of addiction in the family on children and adolescents. Caron Bermuda also has a prevention services relationship with YouthNet. In addition, the centre holds weekly continuing care group meetings for all alumni who have completed primary residential treatment at Caron, and also arranges individual counselling with contracted local therapists.

In recent months, Caron has also begun offering video conferencing capabilities, thanks to a $45,000 grant from Arch Reinsurance. The technology allows patients to stay involved with their primary therapists, and to enhance family, assessment and crisis intervention work by linking with professional staff in Florida and Pennsylvania.

In her new role, Mrs. Blakeney-Saltus will build on these existing programmes and offerings through advocacy, development and community relations.

"Taking on this position truly allows me to serve the people of Bermuda," she said. "This is a personal journey that I'm taking on with all my heart and soul, and with great passion and integrity."

Mrs. Blakeney-Saltus is the former development director of the Bermuda National Gallery. She also served on the board of Caron Bermuda, and held tourism positions within the Bermuda Government and major local hotel chains.

For further information on Caron see website www.caron.org