Alicia (Lily) Gonzalez, CARN

Family Health Center

Worcester, MA

Alicia Gonzalez (Lily) was born and raised in Framingham, Massachusetts by her single mother who raised six children on her own. During her teenage years, Lily realized she had a strong passion for taking care of others which inspired her to pursue a career in nursing. At the age of fifteen, she had the privilege to become a Certified Nursing Assistant through Keefe Technical High School. After becoming certified, Lily worked in many different settings such as hospitals, home care, including a correctional facility. She then enrolled in Becker College located in Worcester, Massachusetts and graduated with her nursing degree. It became evident to her that patients specifically minorities often do not receive the care that they need and deserve due to the stigma associated with substance abuse, subsequent poor access to care, and professionals with insufficient education and training.

Working in the correctional facility for five years it became obvious to her that there are significant gaps and barriers to healthcare for those incarcerated. After graduating from Becker College, Lily was exposed to patients that suffer from substance use disorder. She then worked with patients that were being prescribed Medication-Assisted Treatment also known as (MAT). Medication- Assisted Treatment is the use of Vivitrol, Suboxone, and Methadone in combination with counseling and behavioral health therapy.

She has worked as a Registered Nurse for 10 years, and is a Certified Addiction Registered Nurse (CARN) for the past two years. Lily has been working at Family Health Center for 4 years. Her goal has been and continues to be to treat patient’s healthcare needs as a whole and meeting each patient where they are no matter their circumstances.