Prairie Mountain Health launches mobile addictions clinic in rural Manitoba

A new pilot project will provide addictions services to three rural communities served by Prairie Mountain Health in Manitoba.

Mobile Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine, or RAAM, clinics will be held periodically in Wuskiwi Siphik First Nation, Russell and Virden, according to a Wednesday news release from Prairie Mountain Health. The project was launched in partnership with Shared Health, as well as Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions Program, which provided $897,416 in funding.

A team of nursing staff and rehabilitation counselors experienced with harm reduction will travel to each community's local health care centre to provide services, the release said. In Wuskiwi Siphik, the clinic will be open every Wednesday and Thursday, while in Russell and Virden, it will open biweekly. 

The clinics also have a physician who will be available in person on virtually on the first day the clinics are held in each community. The team approach will help locally-based health-care providers manage ongoing treatment of substance use, the release said. 

In Manitoba, there are currently six site-based RAAM clinics, and for members of these three communities, the closest location they could access previously was in Brandon, according to the release. 

Colton Roback, one of the nurses working at the Wuskiwi Siphik clinic, said in the release that the project will help tackle the stigma of addiction and reduce barriers to getting care.

The RAAM clinics service model includes "low barrier walk-in clinics," according to the release, and appointments or referrals aren't needed.

Cynthia Munroe, a health director from Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation, described the mobile clinics as a "blessing" for her community, and praised the friendliness of the staff in the news release.

The first clinic opened in Virden last Monday. The full schedules for the treatment centres are available on the Prairie Mountain Health website.