Hospital officials want residential rehab open ‘as quickly as possible’

Sault Area Hospital (SAH) officials are welcoming the new Residential Withdrawal Management and Safe Beds services facility, to be located at 145 Old Garden River Road (the former Sault Star building), as a major local evolution in treatment space for individuals striving to overcome addictions.

The 28,000-square foot location was one of 10 on the list of possible locations for the facility, SAH officials said at a virtual update held for the media Friday.

17,000 square feet of that space will be overhauled in phase one of renovations. 

Consultation regarding a location for the centre took place with provincial, regional and community partners, including Indigenous partners, Social Services, mental health and addiction services, patient and family advisors and healthcare providers.

“There have been major changes across addictions care throughout the province in the last couple of years, all in a really positive direction,” said Lisa Case, SAH director of mental health and addiction services, speaking to SooToday.

The centre will include 20 beds for those needing treatment, each individual having his/her own private bedroom and bathroom.

“The biggest piece that I think will be unique about our care here, for Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma, will be the design of the centre,” Case said.

It has been designed to be safe for many patients, including youth, geriatric and LGBTQ2S individuals, clients with justice issues, Indigenous clients, those with a history of sexual or domestic violence or victims of human trafficking.  

“We’ve designed a space that is safe, with physical safety, emotional safety for those who have a history of trauma, and then from an infection prevention and control perspective, we have private rooms, private washrooms, plenty of hand hygiene sinks...the kitchen area, the design of the dining area is such that you can have that socialization in a safe environment for infection prevention and control, so that I think will be a key piece of our care that makes us stand out from why you might be more comfortable in our centre than you would be in another city if you lived there,” Case said.

For its patients (16 and over), the centre will offer assessment, medical support (including medication-assisted withdrawal symptom and craving management), education on harm reduction, healthy coping, life skills and relapse prevention, individual and group counselling and support and self help groups.

There will be therapeutic gardens, a sitting area, an outdoor area for recreation and activity as well as potential for a teaching lodge alongside the building, Case said.

There will be a renovation of the interior and exterior of much of the property, said Wendy Hansson, SAH president and CEO, adding hospital officials are aiming to open the facility “as quickly as possible...we anticipate the centre opening within 12 months.”

That opening would take place after the privately-owned property is officially rezoned by city council from ‘industrial’ to ‘institutional’ and once work by architects and contractors is complete.

Case said the facility and the quality of care will be “top-notch.”

“We’ve made some creative decisions here along with our consultant at Ontario Health North to utilize nursing funds, to maximize the effectiveness of the dollars we’ve received. Where some centres were able to add eight hours of nursing support, we’ve been able to provide nursing 24/7 so I think that’s unique for the level of care we can offer,” Case said.

Additional funding has been provided for nurse practitioners at the facility.

“We were the centre in our area that had the opportunity to add a nurse practitioner. I believe Sudbury is the next closest centre that has an NP starting or recruiting for,” Case said.

Apart from nurse practitioners, the facility’s staff will also include registered social workers and psychotherapists, registered addiction services workers, registered nurses, registered practical nurses, addiction medicine physicians and support staff.

Officials said it’s a big step forward from the former 16-bed withdrawal management and safe bed centre on Queen Street East, a walk-in service supported by an addictions services worker.

Case emphasized there is still a 13-bed withdrawal management and safe bed service, along with four medical withdrawal management beds, available at SAH until the new 20-bed Residential Withdrawal Management and Safe Beds services facility is opened on Old Garden River Road.

“The relocation itself is mostly about having a specifically designed environment with high quality mental health and addictions care when and where people need it,” Case said.

“The key piece for me is that we’ve been working with our partners to design a space that has hope, comfort, it’s welcoming, it’s a supportive environment that has the safety features of a healthcare environment, it has the skill set of medically trained nurses and physicians, trained addictions service workers and support workers to provide that care in a community based location.”

It is anticipated the surrounding neighbourhood, which includes a high school, hotel, a number of businesses and private homes, will be safe, Case told us. 

“We did consult with a number of people. A lot of those consultations were quite confidential, embargoed through the Ministry. There haven’t been voiced concerns about the high school or the hotel, the convenience store and things like that. But what we do know is that for 40 years we were located downtown, a stone’s throw from an elementary school, never had a concern. We would see that the individuals we were caring for were coming for healthcare, they were all there voluntarily, and the incidents of concern around safety and security are actually quite minimal with appropriate space and training.”

Case said the ample physical space and restful atmosphere, private rooms, washrooms, spacious corridors and specialized training among staff to de-escalate situations at the new centre will help in terms of safety and security (police to be called only when needed).            

“It’ll be a nice, safe space to receive care.”

Patients spend anywhere from 21 to 28 days (or longer) in centres such as the Residential Withdrawal Management and Safe Beds services facility.

The Ontario government announced $343,000 in ongoing operational funding for a new withdrawal management centre in Sault Ste. Marie May 27.

The province also announced, on Wednesday, more than $32 million in funding for addiction services and support, including treatment for opioid addictions.