Our History

Supplying Hope for
Nearly 150 Years
Root Center for Advanced Recovery is a private, nonprofit, behavioral health care organization providing mental health and substance use prevention, treatment, community health services, and research. Originally established in 1871, the agency’s humble beginnings came in the form of an outpatient medical facility chartered specifically to provide medical services to the poor and indigent residing in the greater Hartford area.
In 1884, Dr. Joseph E. Root and Dr. M. Johnson offered a small back room to the organization for the use of an outpatient facility. A sign was soon added to the front of the Pearl Street office advertising the “Hartford Dispensary.” After a long and distinguished history of providing traditional medical, surgical, dental, and social services, the agency changed its focus in 1971 to the delivery of outpatient behavioral health care services.
Since that time, the agency has developed medication-assisted treatment services, substance use prevention programs, and infectious disease services. For many years, the agency has actively participated in pharmacological and behavioral research protocols. Presently, the Root Center treats more than 5,500 patients per day within its network of nine clinics across Connecticut. Over 6,800 individual persons receive services annually.
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