New addiction recovery beds offer 'true chance' to improve relapse rate, says Sarnia hospital CEO

Paula Reaume-Zimmer hopes Sarnia-Lambton is poised to take a big step forward in the services offered to people struggling with addiction and homelessness.

Bluewater Health's president and CEO is reacting to what's expected to be roughly $6 million in annual provincial money promised earlier this week for a three-year pilot project.

It includes the creation of 30 new transitional addiction recovery beds at an address yet to be determined in the southwestern Ontario border city. The entire project is a partnership between Lambton-Kent's Canadian Mental Health Association, Sarnia-Lambton's Ontario Health Team, Bluewater Health, North Lambton Community Health Care and the County of Lambton. 

Reaume-Zimmer says the new spaces will be able to keep people in recovery for as long as 18 months. 

"This is a true chance at recovery and putting a successful plan in place and hopefully reuniting with support systems and really start changing the trajectory of the relapse rate and having a successful outcome," she said.

Currently, people dealing with addictions in Sarnia-Lambton can enter an acute state withdrawal management program at the hospital, followed by a voluntary 30-day stay at Ryan's House, a 12-bed stabilization treatment centre, if they choose that path of recovery. 

"Then after 30 days, we discharge them, often to no fixed address. This next step of the 30 new recovery beds is now that new space."

The addictions they're seeing cover a wide range of drugs, including opioids. Reaume-Zimmer says individuals are often addicted to multiple drugs.

"Right now, at Ryan's House, maybe there's only three people, for example, who actually want that long-term treatment, and some of them are going home or some may choose not to proceed with their plan."

This really helps break some of the cycles- Paula Reaume-Zimmer, Bluewater Health

Once a location is picked, she expects 10 of the 30 beds to open "sooner rather than later," with the rest phased in.

Reaume-Zimmer expects to hire 12 additional staff to support them. The province is pushing for as many of the new services as possible to be in place by Apr. 1.

"It's really challenging planning and talking to landlords about opening 30 beds in very short turnaround. They want the wheels in motion. Now, we are working feverishly to confirm that we're receiving the funds and to move forward quickly with our plans."

Reaume-Zimmer calls the government promise a "true transformation" for addictions and homelessness in the city and county, and that she's "very optimistic" about it.

She says emergency departments don't always have the necessary tools to help with wounds or health conditions closely related to a person's substance use.

"We treat that disorder, whatever the medical condition is, and then discharge right out to the streets. That's not uncommon. This really helps break some of the cycles. We've just been spinning our wheels."

The Sarnia-Lambton announcement was part of a $529 million investment promising to create 27 Homelessness and Addictions Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs. The local application asking for a hub was submitted last fall. Despite the quick turnaround, nothing formal has been signed yet, according to Reaume-Zimmer.

Michael Tibollo, Ontario's associate minister of mental health and addictions, says the HART hubs are meant to give people struggling with addiction the support and treatment services they need to achieve "lasting recovery."

Aside from the addiction beds, money is also pegged to eventually build new supportive housing units and establish a permanent intake, primary care resource centre. The centre is planned for the Canadian Mental Health Association's Lambton-Kent building in downtown Sarnia.

It will eventually take the place of the temporary location that's been up and running for almost two years at the vacant rectory attached to Laurel Lea-St Matthew's Presbyterian Church.

The service has been used approximately 9,000 times, according to Valerie Colasanti, by roughly 325 different people. That includes more seniors and women recently — including a large number of Indigenous people, says the general manager of social services for the County of Lambton.

While Colasanti says the "nuts and bolts" are already in place with the temporary location, a bigger space is critical.

"It's sort of happening open in the sanctuary right now, which is fine, but we do need a little bit more space so they can have primary care … their own privacy, those types of things." 

Colasanti says a larger, more formal space will also go a long way in creating connections with people who are often apprehensive about reaching out for help.

"A lot of individuals who experience homelessness are not trusting of government services or any services, so it takes them a while," she said.

Colasanti says sometimes people who use the service for the first time just come in to get warm or grab a cup of coffee.

"We can start to build a trust with them, a rapport with them. Then they'll start to use the other services, perhaps start to talk with a mental health and addictions counsellor, or even start to talk with one of our rapid rehousing counsellors."

More days for mobile clinic

Part of the promised provincial funding also allows a mobile clinic to hit the streets of Sarnia-Lambton more frequently.

The local Mobile Care Outreach Clinic offers addictions services, primary care, community referrals and mental health first response.

Since August, it's operated during midday hours, three or four days during the week, going across the city, county and visiting First Nations. Now, it will be able to run five or six days, according to Rhonny Doxtator, CEO of Lambton-Kent's Canadian Mental Health Association.

"We're always looking at refining if there are needs that come up.".

The mobile clinic is comprised of a driver, nurse practitioner, withdrawal manager and mental health first response or crisis intake staff member.

According to Doxtator, many people using the mix of services enjoy the anonymity that comes along with it.

"It isn't in a building with others, and you don't know whether someone's coming for an ear infection or they're coming for addiction care."

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley says all of the services in the provincial announcement will enhance what's already available to some of the area's most vulnerable populations.

"To quote Helen Keller, 'Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much," he said.