Over the years, Weisberger won awards, including the Maine Osteopathic Association's Young Family Practioner of the Year, its Physician of the Year award, and its Distinguished Service Award. The American Osteopathic Association nominated Weisberger as a Mentor of the Year in 2004. Bu the call to help those in need didn't end when he retired as a family practitioner.
Soon after Steve and Teri Weisberger retired to the Belgrade Lakes in central Maine, he co-founded Northwest Winds Recovery in Bangor with Joyce Warren, LADC, CCS, a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. Each month, they help between 30 to 40 people from rural communitities around Bangor navigate opiod addiction and build productive lives.
“I take care of their mental health needs as well as their addiction issues. And every one of my patients has my phone number,” Weisberger said.
Weisberger lays most of the credit for helping those patients squarely with Warren, who serves as Northwest Winds’ clinical director. But Warren shook her head as she explained how much of the center’s success lies with Weisberger, who regularly meets with patients on Telehealth calls, many at a moment’s notice.
“Usually, the reason people relapse is because they need to get in to see someone. Steve always wants to be available for them,” Warren said. “He’s the only provider I know who gives out his personal cell. He lets his patients call him any time. He just did the other night with a woman who was released from prison. His patients just love him.”
“We went there with the idea that we were going to be there for only four years. But after two years, we were smitten."
Matt Cowan, P.A., who worked for Weisberger as a physician assistant, called him innovative for the way