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To help those battling addictions access care closer to home, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is proposing a residential withdrawal management unit onsite at the facility.
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Hospital officials provided an update to council this past week during the draft budget presentation.
The hospital is proposing renovations to the Chatham site to create a 10-bed unit, which would operate 24-7 with access to outpatient services. The project still requires approval from Ontario Health, which would provide the operating costs.
Alan Stevenson, CKHA vice president of mental health and addictions, said there is a need in the community for these services, noting it’s preferable not to refer people elsewhere.
“We are the only community in Southwestern Ontario that does not have their own residential withdrawal management,” he said. “It has consistently come up, both through the work of community organizations like the United Way, as well as through our strategic planning process here at CKHA, as one of the most significant needs.
“We know that we send a significant number of people out of the community to receive withdrawal management. Which is working OK for those folks, but we know that the greater number of people decline those referrals because of proximity. The need for resources locally is very obvious.”
He called “continuity of care” important during a patient’s recovery, as it maximizes the chance of long-term success.
“Residential withdrawal management creates a safe environment for people to experience withdrawal with supports, including both medical and non-medical supports,” he said. “As well as to begin the process of moving forward with addiction treatment.”
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Stevenson added the new unit would take pressure off existing in-patient capacity at the hospital, noting that those with addictions generally require more specialized care to begin with.
He said the unit would be located in Zone F, the former site of outpatient mental health and addictions services, and currently being used as space for administrative support.
“The space was never designed for residential purposes and so there are some renovations that are required,” he said.
The hospital is requesting a one-time $500,000 contribution from the municipality, with the total estimated renovation cost pegged at $1.2 million.
Fundraising from the hospital and the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation will also go towards the project if it moves ahead.
“I want to reiterate and reinforce though that the ongoing operating costs for this is not something we’re asking the CK municipality for, but rather we’re working with Ontario Health and look forward to approval at some point on that,” Stevenson said .
“The challenge that we have is that in the event on the contingency that we are successful in our bid to receive operating funding, we are not going to be receiving any of the capital costs.”
Lori Marshall, CKHA president and CEO, said the unit would “really fill in a gap that we know exists” in the community.
She added the hospital hopes it will have an answer from Ontario Health by March 31, the end of its fiscal year.
“So, we anticipate that we will hear before (then),” Marshall said. “At the point when we do hear, then we will want to move very quickly towards the renovations. I think we all want this up and going as soon as we possibly can.”
BY THE NUMBERS
– 186 Chatham-Kent residents were admitted to residential withdrawal management in Windsor or Sarnia in 2020-21, a nine per cent increase.
– 562 patients were seen in the Chatham and Wallaceburg emergency departments with a primary diagnosis of substance use disorder.
– Psychiatrists estimate that 30 per cent of the admissions to the in-patient mental health unit during the pandemic could have been diverted to residential withdrawal management.